Embattled Michigan AD Warde Manuel won't deny buyout conversations
Embattled Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel on Tuesday won't deny that he has had conversations about a possible buyout. But he continues to say that he remains committed to the job and proud of what he's accomplished.
Manuel appeared on Michigan insider Sam Webb's radio show on WTKA 1050-AM on Tuesday morning in a long-scheduled interview. The two spoke for over a half-hour in an interview that came a day after multiple published reports said his job was in jeopardy.
Webb asked Manuel directly if that was true.
"Don't believe everything that's out there in the world about what people say," Manuel told Webb. "I don't know what the future holds. I don't know ... what's going to happen. I know what today is, I know what tomorrow's going to be.
"It could happen. I don't know. I don't know what the future is going to be."
Manuel, 58, a former Michigan football player, has been Michigan's athletic director since 2016.
Manuel's athletic department has been investigated for months by Chicago-based law firm Jenner & Block, who were originally hired to investigate fired football coach Sherrone Moore's personal relationship with staffer Paige Shiver. The university authorized the attorneys to expand their investigation to look at the "culture" of the entire athletic department. The investigation has cost the university $12 million in legal bills.
There were multiple national media reports Monday, citing anonymous sources, that said Manuel could be on his way out, and soon, amid the report's finding. Manuel told Webb on Tuesday that he has not seen the report, and he's not sure when or if the university plans to release the report.
Manuel was asked by The News on Monday if he was staying as athletic director He said, "Yes, I am."
"I wish we got to a point in this society where people would actually put their names to things," Manuel told Webb during Tuesday's interview on WTKA. "I did yesterday (to The News).
"I'm not going to run and hide.
"I love this place."
Under Manuel, Michigan has won multiple national championships, including in football in 2023 and men's basketball in 2026. But there have been scandals, too, most notably the elaborate sign-stealing scheme orchestrated by football staffer Connor Stalions, as well as Moore's ouster and subsequent arrest, among many other issues with other programs, including men's basketball and hockey.
Manuel told Webb he has had conversations Michigan president Domenico Grasso but said those conversations will "remain personal." Manuel did say, "He's very supportive of me, of athletics."
"I've had several conversations over the last six or seven months about the future and things that have happened and different opportunities and different ways that things can go," Manuel told Webb. "As it relates to where things are going to go, I'm not 100 percent certain yet.
"Things are discussed along the way, but it's not taken away from me doing my job and what I need to do to help us drive success. ... How all those conversations come together ... I can't predict that.
"If it happens, it happens."
In the interview with Webb, Manuel adamantly denied that Michigan athletics has a culture problem.
Manuel defended the department under his watch, a day after former Michigan assistant football coach Chris Partridge amended a wrongful-termination lawsuit against the university - adding allegations that Manuel and then-president Santa Ono directed a coverup of information amid the sign-stealing scandal of 2023.
Manuel also defended his department's background-check process, specifically regarding former assistant football coach Matt Weiss, who was arrested and charged with 24 crimes by the feds, including 14 counts of unauthorized access to computers and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft
"I do feel confident in things I have done here at Michigan," Manuel said. "I've been a part of this place for 40 years, since 1986. I have a deep love for this place and I want us to be great.
"It's up to me to face the challenges that I face. ... Nobody said this job was going to be easy."
Manuel has four years left on a contract extension signed in 2024, in a deal that pays him more than $2 million a year. The contract calls for 36 months of severance should he be fired without cause, unless a settlement is reached.
The Michigan Board of Regents have a regularly scheduled meeting Thursday in Traverse City, though there are no indications the athletics report will be discussed. Athletics wasn't on the preliminary agenda posted online. That doesn't mean that athletics won't be discussed by regents during open comment time.
Paul Corliss, the university's assistant vice president for public affairs and internal communications, told The News on Monday that, at least to his knowledge, no physical investigative report existed, and there were no plans to discuss Manuel or the investigation at the board meeting.
"I don't know what the future is going to be and how long I'll be in in this position, but I do know that I'm here today, and I do know that I'll be here tomorrow, and I do feel confident in the things that I have done here at Michigan," Manuel told Webb on WKTA on Tuesday morning. "I continue to do the job.
"And I continue to do the best that I can do for the University of Michigan and this athletic department."
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This story was originally published July 14, 2026 at 1:49 PM.