Michigan's Athletic director Warde Manuel is expected to be out of a job this week. Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger reported on Sunday that Manuel's future at Michigan is in serious doubt following an internal investigation into the Sherrone Moore saga.

The Michigan Board of Regents meeting is scheduled for Thursday, where officials are expected to respond to the findings.

"The future of Michigan AD Warde Manuel is in doubt in the wake of a report of an internal investigation around the Sherrone Moore saga," Dellenger reported on X. "A Michigan Board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, where officials are expected to further respond to the report."

Host of The Spiro Avenue Show Justin Spiro went further, reporting on X that Manuel is already out and negotiations over his release terms are underway. An official announcement is expected this week.

The Jenner and Block law firm was brought in in November 2025 to investigate Michigan's athletic department. The university has paid north of $11.5 million to the firm for work done through March 2026 alone.

And when an institution spends that kind of money on an outside investigation, leadership changes rarely stop at one person.

Moore was fired by Manuel on December, 10 2025, for an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. Moore was then arrested the same night after police responded to an alleged incident at the staff member's residence.

Moore's termination letter, later obtained by the Detroit News, stated that he had lied during the university's investigation into his conduct.

Manuel has been Michigan's AD since 2016. He signed a five-year extension in 2024 through June 2030 at more than $2 million per year. A buyout would require 36 months of severance pay unless a settlement is reached.

That is a significant financial commitment to unwind. Michigan will be paying heavily to move on from Manuel on top of everything the investigation has already cost.

Warde Manuel's tenure was defined by back-to-back titles and back-to-back coaching losses

Manuel oversaw two national championships at Michigan. The football program won the title in 2023 under Jim Harbaugh, while the men's basketball team won the NCAA championship in 2026 under Dusty May.

Both times, the university could not keep the coach who delivered the title. Harbaugh left for the Los Angeles Chargers. May walked out the door for the Dallas Mavericks head coaching job, per Yahoo Sports.

That was just the coaching side.

Manuel's time at Michigan also covered the Connor Stalions sign-stealing mess, and a federal indictment against former quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss for allegedly hacking into the private accounts of over 3,300 student-athletes.

Then Juwan Howard was fired after a fight with a Wisconsin assistant. And now, there's everything that happened with Moore.

If Manuel is out this week, Michigan goes into the 2026-27 sports year needing a new athletic director on top of already having replaced both the football and basketball coaches.

What do you think about the latest developments surrounding Michigan's athletic department? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Farheen Fathima

Edited by

Arundhoti Palit