Biff Poggi didn’t wait for Maryland to come knocking before putting himself forward.
The former Michigan interim coach and current Big Ten Network analyst made a direct pitch for the Terrapins’ opening, leaning on both his Baltimore roots and his track record in the area. Poggi, 66, was born in Baltimore and has coached at Gilman and St. Frances Academy, two stops that helped shape his case for the job.
“Yeah, I really would like the job,” Poggi said in a phone interview with the Baltimore Sun.
At Gilman, Poggi built a monster resume: a 135-43 record, 13 conference titles and the distinction of being the winningest coach in school history. At St.
Frances, he played a major role in turning an underfunded Catholic school into a national contender. He told the Baltimore Sun he believes Maryland has both the talent and the financial backing to win in the Big Ten, but he also made clear he doesn’t think a new coach alone fixes everything.
“Don’t think you can think, ‘Hey, we’re just going to hire a new coach, and everything’s going to be better,'” Poggi said. “There have been plenty of coaches there that haven’t won.”
Poggi’s college coaching background includes a successful run at Michigan, where he went 2-1 in a three-game stretch as interim coach before a 41-27 loss to Texas in the Citrus Bowl. That came during his third stint with the Wolverines.
He first joined Michigan with Harbaugh in 2016 as an analyst, then returned in 2021 and 2022 as associate head coach. Over that second stretch, Michigan went 25-3 and reached the College Football Playoffs.
His other head-coaching stop was far less productive. Poggi spent two seasons at Charlotte and went 6-16 before returning to Michigan in 2025.
If he were to get the Maryland job, Poggi said the rebuild would center on staff alignment and a heavy push into the transfer portal. He also said Maryland has had trouble drawing top assistant coaches and described the school’s coaching staffs as “pretty weak.”
On top of that, he laid out a financial benchmark for roster building, estimating Maryland needs $25 million to $28 million annually in player compensation through a mix of institutional revenue sharing and corporate sponsorships.
“If Indiana can win, we can win."
Poggi said he has not spoken with Maryland athletic director Jim Smith, but he believes his ties to the region and his résumé would speak loudly if the school ever made contact.
“If I was named the Maryland coach, I would have 50 calls that day from kids and their agents."
For now, Maryland’s next move remains unknown. But Poggi has made his stance plain: he wants in.
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