Michigan will hire its Jim Harbaugh replacement in extremely short order

Jim Harbaugh brought the Michigan Wolverines their first national championship since 1997 when they beat the Washington Huskies this season. But after the confetti dropped, the expectation was that Harbaugh would make the jump back to the NFL. Sure enough, that's exactly what happened on Wednesday.

According to ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter, Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers agreed to terms on a five-year contract to become the new head coach.

With Chargers faithful celebrating the hiring of a winning head coach, Michigan fans pondered what was next for the program. It appears they won't have to wait long to find out.

According to Action Network's Brett McMurphy, Michigan offensive coordinator, Sherrone Moore is expected to be named the new head coach by the weekend. A source told McMurphy that it's "Sherrone's job to lose" and that "it's 99.9 percent."

Michigan expected to hire Sherrone Moore to replace Jim Harbaugh by weekend

The promotion of Moore isn't entirely shocking, but we now have an idea as to when the university can announce Harbaugh's replacement. Shortly after the Harbaugh hire, Moore was listed as the favorite for the job. Not only that, but CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones reported that Moore was making calls to fill his staff in the weeks prior to Harbaugh's jump back to the NFL.

Athletic director Warde Manuel said after Harbaugh's hiring with the Chargers that they would "move quickly to hire the next head coach," while doing everything in their power to keep the coaching staff and team together.

Moore oversaw four games this season as interim head coach of Michigan due in part to two separate Harbaugh suspensions. Moore coached Michigan to a 31-6 win over Bowling Green on Sept. 16 after Harbaugh served a three-game suspension for alleged violations during the COVID-19 dead period. Moore took over for the team's last three regular-season games after Harbaugh agreed to a three-game suspension from the Big Ten for alleged sign stealing. Michigan beat No. 10 Penn State, Maryland, and No. 2 Ohio State to help clinch a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game.

Earning a perfect 4-0 record and scoring big wins over the likes of Penn State and Ohio State helped move Moore high up the list of potential Harbaugh replacements. Now, it appears that a deal could get done by this weekend. But Moore will have a tough challenge, especially if Harbaugh poaches members of the coaching staff, and the fact that a lot of their top talent declared for the NFL Draft.