The last nine days have been tumultuous for the Michigan football program to say the least. In the hours immediately following the firing and arrest of former head coach Sherrone Moore, the university
began its search for the next leader of the school’s flagship athletic program. The search has been nationwide, as it should be at a school as big and prestigious as Michigan, but a few current players believe the search shouldn’t be looking that far at all.
In fact, they believe it shouldn’t extend outside the building at all and that interim head coach Biff Poggi should be the new head coach of the program.
Poggi is in his third stint at Michigan. He first came to Ann Arbor as an analyst in 2016, then returned home to Baltimore to coach St. Frances Academy, one of the nation’s top high school programs, for four years. He was on staff as the associate head coach in 2021-22 under Jim Harbaugh before returning in the same role in 2025.
Like most of the coaches in Michigan’s search, Poggi has head coaching experience at the college level. The only problem is it came at Charlotte and resulted in a 6-16 record over two seasons, ultimately ending in his firing in 2024. The subpar record doesn’t seem to matter for Michigan’s players, though. Especially senior tight end Marlin Klein, who voiced his support for Poggi to be the next head coach on Friday afternoon.
“(Poggi) just truly cares about the people in the building. Not just the coaches, not just the players, but really everybody. He cares about the janitor, and he wants to make sure that everyone’s doing good. He’s a Michigan man and he loves it here and everybody loves him,” Klein said. “I do believe he’s the right person for this job.”
Klein’s remarks aren’t far off from what we’ve heard about Poggi. He’s an excellent builder and manager of relationships who is invested in the success of those around him — a player’s coach through and through. He was Harbaugh’s right-hand man and was a big reason for the program getting back on track in 2021 even though he wasn’t well-known by fans.
The interim tag was given to Poggi when Moore was fired, and he has been in regular communication with the players and their parents — something that hasn’t gone unappreciated by those in the building.
“Coach Biff’s done a great job even with the parents,” linebacker Jimmy Rolder said. “(The parents) are not always included in all the news and everything, but he’s done a great job reaching out to them. He’s been on Zoom calls with them multiple times just making sure they’re up-to-date. Everyone’s just rallying around him and trusting him.”
While most folks are focused on bigger names like Kalen DeBoer and Kenny Dillingham, the impact Poggi is making on those in the program isn’t going unnoticed. While he’s an unlikely person to land the job, the connection he has with those still in the building has been instrumental during this unprecendented transition.
Even if it’s DeBoer, Dillingham or someone else that eventually gets the job, it would be great for the players if Poggi were able to stick around in some capacity.
