Sherrone Moore was sentenced Tuesday to 18 months probation in Washtenaw County Court, avoiding jail time after pleading no contest to two misdemeanors tied to a domestic relationship. Judge Cedric Simpson also ordered the former Michigan football coach to stay away from drugs and alcohol, barred him from possessing firearms and fined him roughly $1,000.
Moore, 32, had faced more serious stalking and home invasion charges that could have put him behind bars for as long as five years. Prosecutors said he flooded Paige Shiver’s phone with texts and calls, then went to her house after Michigan fired him Dec. 10, following her disclosure to the school about their affair. At that house, prosecutors said, Moore threatened to harm himself with a butter knife and told Shiver, “I’m going to kill myself. I’m going to make you watch. My blood is on your hands. You’ve ruined my life,” charges that were later reduced in the plea deal.
Simpson said a letter from Kelli Moore factored into his decision and made clear he did not think prison fit the case. The judge also said Shiver asked for the harshest sentence possible, even though she did not attend Tuesday’s hearing. In court, Simpson praised her for not turning away from Moore, telling him that the person helping spare him the court’s full punishment was the same person he had betrayed.
The hearing closed a sharp fall for a coach who had been Michigan’s offensive coordinator and served two seasons as the Wolverines’ head coach before his termination. Moore thanked his wife for “standing by me,” and the two shared a hug after he avoided prison. The sentence leaves him under court supervision and under clear limits, but it also ends the immediate threat of incarceration that had hung over a case built on threats, texts and a late-night visit that prosecutors said turned volatile fast.
