Urban Meyer reacts to Sherrone Moore situation: ‘I said a prayer for that family’

The Michigan-Ohio State rivalry is among the fiercest in all of American sports, but that doesn’t mean some humanity can’t creep in when it’s called for.

The situation surrounding former Michigan Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore went from shocking to disturbing pretty quickly over the past week. One person who offered his support was Fox Sports college football analyst and former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer.

“Yeah, last night I said a prayer for that family,” Meyer said on the latest episode of The Triple Option podcast. “I mean, you got three little girls, you got a guy that was on top of the road a week ago. You know, they find a way, they’re up 6-0 on the Buckeyes at home, and then also you wake up and they’re in this situation. Yeah, rivalries aside, this is all human element. Now, this is something that, from what you read, that’s some serious stuff that went on. And I just all of a sudden, you start seeing the impact. Forget football. Who cares about football?

“I care about those three, you know, his family. So prayers are with them. Hopefully, this thing somehow gets cleaner and better, which I don’t know how it will for a while, but you just care about that family.”

Moore, who is married with three daughters, was fired on Wednesday after Michigan confirmed an inappropriate relationship he had with a staff member. After the announcement of his firing, he was arrested for an alleged assault in the female staff member’s home.

Though not on this level, Meyer knows a thing or two about how off-field scandals can shake up a coach’s reputation, both within and outside his family, so his prayers and wishes likely come from the understanding that football isn’t, and shouldn’t, be the most essential thing in a coach’s life.