Two days after Jim Harbaugh left to return to the NFL, Michigan has promoted from within.

Sherrone Moore has been named the Wolverines’ new head football coach, the school announced Friday. Moore spent the last six seasons on Harbaugh’s staff, most recently as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach.

“I want to thank Coach Harbaugh for the faith that he has displayed in me over the past six years and for supporting my growth as a football coach during that time,” Moore said. “I also want to thank Athletic Director Warde Manuel, President Santa Ono and members of the Board of Regents for putting their faith and trust in me to be the next leader of this football program. I am excited to reward that trust.

“I have been preparing my entire coaching career for this opportunity and I can’t think of a better place to be head coach than at the University of Michigan. We will do everything each day as a team to continue the legacy of championship football that has been played at the University of Michigan for the past 144 years. Our standards will not change. We will be a tough, physical, disciplined, hungry, championship-level team that loves football and plays with passion for the game, the winged helmet and each other. We will also continue to achieve excellence off the field, in the classroom and in our communities. I am excited to start working in this new role with our players, coaches and staff.”

The 37-year-old Moore becomes the first African-American head coach in Michigan football history. He served as acting coach for four games during the Wolverines’ 2023 national championship run while Harbaugh was suspended by the NCAA and later the Big Ten.

A former Oklahoma offensive lineman, Moore also coached at Louisville and Central Michigan before joining Harbaugh’s staff as tight ends coach in 2018. He took over as offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator in 2021, then assumed full control of the offense this past season after Matt Weiss was fired in January.

“Sherrone has proven to be a great leader for our football program, especially the offensive line and players on the offensive side of the football,” Manuel said. “He is a dynamic, fierce and competitive individual who gets the best out of the players he mentors. The players love playing for him and being with him in the building every day.

“Sherrone stepped up this fall and served as the interim head coach when the program and especially the team needed him. Sherrone handled that situation in a way that sealed my already-growing confidence in him. He didn’t make it about him, it was always about the team! We are thrilled to have Sherrone and his wife, Kelli, and the entire Moore family step into this new role for our football program and university community.”

Michigan went 15-0 and won its first national since 1997 this past season under Harbaugh, who was hired Wednesday by the Los Angeles Chargers. The Wolverines won their third straight Big Ten title, then beat Alabama 27-20 in overtime in the Rose Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal and Washington 34-13 in the national title game.