Major update on Sherrone Moore’s future in football after legal win over break-in at home of alleged mistress

Could Sherrone Moore return to coaching after being dismissed at Michigan over an alleged affair with a staffer?

Such a possibility seemed unlikely when Moore was arrested in the wake of his dismissal and charged with felony home invasion and stalking after allegedly barging his way into his former mistress’ home and threatening to harm himself.

But now that the 40-year-old married father has pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors in a deal to resolve the felony case, Moore’s attorney appeared to open the door for his return to the sidelines.

‘Here is a man who has devoted himself to working hard to get where he needs to be,’ attorney Ellen Michaels told reporters Friday in Ann Arbor. ‘And I can tell you that this is a man who will continue his path and continue his journey, and he will do what it takes to get there.’

Moore’s resume is undeniably impressive. A former offensive lineman at Oklahoma, the Kansas native became a graduate assistant coach at Louisville before getting added to head coach Charlie Strong’s full-time staff in 2012. Moore would go on to join Central Michigan as an assistant before being hired by now-former Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh in 2019.

After winning the 2023 national championship as the Wolverines offensive coordinator, Moore was promoted to head coach in Ann Arbor as Harbaugh took the Los Angeles Chargers job in the NFL.

Getting another job in football won’t be easy and Michaels said his first priority is focusing on his wife and daughters.

‘He has had the opportunity to be with his daughters, to be with his wife, to be home for the holidays, to take his kids to swim lessons,’ Michaels said. ‘As somebody who came up the coaching tree and became a head coach at a young age, that is something he missed out on.’

And while the accusations against Moore failed to lead to a felony conviction, the fallout from his December firing is hard to ignore.

The University of Michigan accused Moore of having an improper affair with a staff member, which he later admitted to during police interrogations, according to court files. That relationship reportedly lasted two years and ended shortly before it was revealed to athletic department officials.

Police accused Moore of barging into the woman’s home after his dismissal and threatening to harm himself with butter knives and scissors. He denied making any threats to his former romantic partner or physically harming her in any way.

The woman in question was not identified publicly in court and her name was redacted from files. However, multiple reports have identified her as Paige Shiver, the daughter of a long-time Chicago Bears scout, who served as Moore’s personal assistant for several years. Her attorney has not responded to Daily Mail’s repeated requests for comment.

In exchange for the dismissed charges, Moore has agreed to plead no contest to two new misdemeanors: One count of malicious use of a telecommunications device in context of a private relationship and another count of trespassing.

Sentencing for the two additional charges has been set for April 14 at 2pm.

Malicious use of a telecommunications device in context of a private relationship is punishable by up to six months in prison, while trespassing is punishable by up to 30 days in prison.

‘We maintain that the felony stalking charge and the entering without permission charge, all the charges against Mr. Moore, were not supported by facts of law,’ Michaels told reporters after Friday’s hearing.

‘After the court granted our motion for a Franks hearing (where a defendant can challenge the truthfulness of statements made by law enforcement in a search warrant affidavit), and the omissions in the detective’s affidavit were examined, those charges have been dismissed.

‘The dismissal of those charges validates the concerns we raised about the investigation from the very beginning. Mr. Moore is pleased to put this behind him and move forward.’

Moore – whose wife Kelli has stood by him throughout the scandal – was first arraigned on December 12 on the charges of third-degree home invasion, stalking, and breaking and entering.

He pleaded not guilty and, back in January, his lawyer said the charges were based on an effort by a staff member to get a financial windfall from the school’s ‘deep pockets.’

In what he described last month as a ‘glaring’ omission, Judge J. Cedric Simpson said law enforcement failed to indicate in its charging papers that the female staffer was Moore’s employee. And that professional connection appeared to undermine the misdemeanor stalking charge by offering an explanation as to why Moore would need to repeatedly contact the alleged victim.

‘It’s not stalking if the communication has a legitimate purpose,’ Michaels said at the February hearing, as quoted by the Detroit Free Press.

Authorities did include comments made by the woman’s lawyer to police accusing Moore of misconduct. And, as Simpson explained, this may have violated his rights.

‘What worries me is the magistrate did not get that opportunity [to hear more information],’ Simpson said, as quoted by the Detroit Free Press.

‘And if the magistrate didn’t get that opportunity, that means what the people got may not have been a validly sworn out complaint…and that the defendant’s due process rights may have been violated. That’s my problem, or my concern.’

Although Simpson said he thought law enforcement omitted details and included others as ‘an intentional misdirection to the court,’ he went on to explain that police motivation doesn’t change the question of a potential rights violation.

‘What is clear from this court’s perspective is that an omission in certain contexts can be more damaging, more problematic, more troublesome, than what might be an intentional misrepresentation,’ Simpson said.

Moore’s attorney did not dispute the coach’s presence at Shiver’s apartment, but claims there is no evidence she had told him to stay away.

‘A magistrate must be given a fair and accurate picture. When the picture is distorted, the warrant cannot stand,’ Michaels wrote.

She accused Shiver’s personal lawyer, Heidi Sharp, of giving information to police to ‘villainize Mr. Moore and maximize the chances of obtaining a large settlement from the deep pockets of the University of Michigan.’

Moore would not be the first head coach to get a second chance after such a scandal.

Bobby Petrino was fired by Arkansas in 2012 when it was discovered he had an affair with a former volleyball player, whom he then hired and gave a $20,000 gift. The relationship came to light after a motorcycle crash which left the married Petrino with a neck injury and scars across his face.

He first told police officers that he was alone on his bike, but it was soon revealed that the coach had a passenger: 25-year-old Jessica Dorrell.

Despite this, Petrino got head-coaching positions at Louisville and Missouri State before becoming a highly paid offensive coordinator at Texas A&M and even Arkansas. Now he serves under North Carolina head coach, Bill Belichick.