Should Kentucky Football look into Bryce Underwood after Sherrone Moore firing?

Michigan just blew up its own stability at the worst possible time. Sherrone Moore, who took over for Jim Harbaugh, was fired “for cause” on Dec. 10 after the university said it found “credible evidence” of an inappropriate relationship with a staff member and called it a clear violation of policy.

That’s a nightmare for Michigan on a lot of levels. But if you’re a Kentucky fan, your brain jumps to one name pretty quickly: Bryce Underwood.

The 5-star quarterback, former LSU commit, and centerpiece of Michigan’s future signed a massive NIL deal reportedly worth eight figures over four years.

Crucially, multiple reports say that NIL agreement does not include a buyout, giving Underwood flexibility to move if he wants as he watches how Michigan handles this coaching search.

So, where does Kentucky fit into any of this?

What Bryce Underwood’s future could mean for Kentucky Football

Start with the obvious connection: Joe Sloan.

New Kentucky offensive coordinator Joe Sloan was not just “on the LSU staff” during Underwood’s recruitment; he was one of the key offensive voices in Baton Rouge and a central figure in quarterback recruiting.

Sloan coached Jayden Daniels through his Heisman season at LSU and helped build one of the nation’s most explosive passing attacks before Brian Kelly’s firing and staff changes ended his time there.

Underwood was committed to LSU thanks in large part to Sloan before flipping to Michigan after a monster NIL offer that’s been widely linked to Michigan’s new-era war chest.

The point is simple: he already has a relationship with the man who will now be calling plays in Lexington. That matters.

Underwood’s camp is reportedly “paying close attention” to who Michigan hires next; they are not locked into Ann Arbor, no matter what.

From Kentucky’s side, a few things line up on paper:

• Will Stein’s offense is quarterback-friendly. What Stein did at Oregon with Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel, and Dante Moore is exactly the kind of tape an elite high school quarterback wants to live in: tempo, space, vertical shots, and easy answers built into the scheme.
• Sloan gives you credibility in the room. He’s put a Heisman winner and multiple high-end QBs into massive numbers and NFL positioning. That’s a real résumé pitch, not just theory.

Now, layer that on top of the Michigan chaos. With Moore out, assistant Biff Poggi is running the Citrus Bowl, and Michigan is searching for a new head coach while also dealing with sanctions and public fallout. Players there will have a 15-day transfer window triggered by the coaching change once a hire is complete, which gives someone like Underwood a clean avenue to explore his options if he chooses, even if the official portal window is closed.

Does that mean Kentucky is suddenly the favorite to land him? No. That would be dishonest. Michigan can still steady the ship by making a strong, quarterback-friendly hire and keeping Underwood locked in. Other heavy hitters with bigger NIL war chests or geographic advantages will sniff around too if he ever reopens things.

But can you rule Kentucky out? Not at all. In fact, if you drew up a profile of a program that could credibly make a late push, it would look a lot like what Kentucky is trying to be under Stein:

• SEC stage with huge visibility.
• A modern offense that lets a star quarterback put up numbers and go to the league.
• A coordinator he already knows and, at one point, believed in enough to commit to his previous school.

Ultimately, everything hinges on what Michigan does next. If the Wolverines land a hire Underwood trusts, this all becomes a big “what if.” If they whiff or the scandal fallout lingers, the door cracks open. And if that door cracks even a little, Joe Sloan and Will Stein have every reason to sprint through it.

And of course, there’s Cutter Boley. By all indications, Kentucky wants to keep him. But do they want to hand him the starting job next season? Or do they want to bring in a guy like Underwood to potentially take over?

For now, the only honest read is this: Michigan’s crisis doesn’t automatically make Bryce Underwood a free agent, but it does make his future more fluid than it looked a week ago, and that’s exactly the kind of opening a hungry program like Kentucky could be keeping tabs on.

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Drew Holbrook has been covering the Cats for over 10 years. In his free time he enjoys downtime with his family and Premier League soccer. You can find him on X here. Micah 7:7. #UptheAlbion