The fallout of the Sherrone Moore saga at Michigan seems to have no expiry date. After he was fired, the university hired a Chicago-based law firm to investigate the athletic department’s workings. The $11.5 million investigation is about to end. Additionally, a former Michigan LBs coach has made serious allegations about AD Warde Manuel in his lawsuit for wrongful termination. Owing to the recent events, Warde Manuel’s job might be in real jeopardy.

“He will likely not make it through July, I would say,” ESPN’s Pete Thamel said on the July 14 podcast. ” [This] is probably the safest time frame, but he certainly survived some things.”

The internal investigation, headed by law firm Jenner & Block, started in December as the program sought an “open-ended review” of the athletic department. The goal was to evaluate the program’s culture, conduct, and internal procedures on the backdrop of several controversies plaguing Michigan. A central piece of the investigation was AD Warde Manuel.

Manuel has been the program’s AD since 2016 and has overseen the 2023 national championship and this year’s basketball championship victory. Despite those achievements, the program under his watch has gone through some of the most infamous controversies. For starters, UM was involved in a controversial sign-stealing scandal along with the Mathew Weiss controversy. Most recently, Sherrone Moore’s inappropriate relationship with a female staffer and his subsequent firing have put Manuel under tough scrutiny.

According to reports, the University’s board of regents has scheduled a meeting on Thursday to discuss the findings of the internal investigation. According to CBS Sports, in light of the development, the 58-year-old is now “weighing his options,” which include the possibility of retiring. But that’s not all the trouble Manuel has on his plate.

Former UM linebackers’ coach, Chris Partridge, has updated his wrongful termination lawsuit to include Manuel and former Michigan president Santa Ono. According to his lawsuit, Manuel and the athletic department’s hierarchy knew about Moore’s relationship with Paige Shivers “for years” but took no action. Not just that, it also states that Santa Ono hid key findings from a private law firm during the whole Matthew Weiss controversy.

According to Partridge, both Ono and Manuel never disclosed details about reports of cheating found on Matthew Weiss’s computer. Not just that, they also failed to express accountability after the sign-stealing scandal came to light. In November 2023, the university fired Chris Partridge after he allegedly attempted to influence a student athlete to withhold information during the NCAA sign-stealing investigation.

Manuel, though, has spoken openly about the several controversies that plagued Michigan. In May, at the Big 10’s spring meeting, he called his aim at Michigan is to provide “steadiness.” Moreover, he also regretted the events at Michigan and said that it was “not anything that I’ve desired or wanted.” Despite the widespread backlash against Manuel, he relayed that everything was “dealt with” as he aimed to steer UM clear of all the ruckus.

For now, though, Manuel’s future at the program remains unclear, and the board of regents has not yet decided whether he will stay. Despite everything, though, it’s safe to say that under his watch, UM has achieved some of its greatest achievements on the field. And that shows through his $1.9 million per year contract that runs through 2030. Nevertheless, time is running out for UM, amid $30 million in NCAA fines and around $11.5 million (total $41.5 million) in legal fees mounting from its recent controversies.