Biff Poggi didn’t just have a front-row seat to Michigan’s coaching search - he was right in the middle of it.
After Sherrone Moore was fired ahead of the Wolverines’ bowl game against Texas because of an inappropriate relationship with a staffer, Poggi stepped in as interim head coach. That move put him back in the spotlight at a program he already knew well, and according to Poggi, he was much closer to landing the full-time job than many realized.
Speaking with Jordan Strack and Chris Wormley on “The Stadium & Main Show,” Poggi said the search came down to him and Kyle Whittingham.
“Look, I was coaching the team and I don’t know if you guys know this, but I had applied for the job,” Poggi said. “I was a finalist.
It came down to me and Kyle. We were the two finalists.
And I mean, I’m down in Florida at the Citrus Bowl, Kyle gets hired, he comes down and he was like in a tsunami. He had no idea the difference between Utah and Michigan, what the expectations are, what the fan engagement is, what the alumni engagement is, how much money you can raise and have to raise, how good the players are.”
Poggi’s connection to Michigan runs deep. He began his head coaching career at Gilman High School in Maryland, where he coached from 1996-2015 before joining Michigan under Jim Harbaugh as an analyst. After the 2016 season, he left to coach Saint Frances Academy.
Harbaugh brought him back in 2021 and 2022 as associate head coach, then Poggi left to become head coach at Charlotte. He was fired in 2024 and returned to Michigan under Moore. Along the way, he built the kind of relationships in Ann Arbor that made him believe the job could be his.
“It was hard because I really thought I was going to get it,” Poggi said of missing out. “I had four interviews.
They all went really well. I was getting very positive feedback from the search guy and it was all going very well and I thought we were also the players favorite.
Now, that doesn’t always mean that you - that’s the right thing. What hurt was that, not hurt, but what was disappointing was that I wasn’t going to be around those kids anymore,”
Even now, Poggi is still preaching patience with Whittingham, who came from the Big 12 to the Big Ten and is dealing with the adjustment. Michigan’s offense has been one of the worst among Power Four teams, but Poggi has made it clear he still sees a coach worth backing.
“First of all, you don’t get into coaching unless you love being around young people, unless you love football,” said Poggi. “And nobody gets into coaching to lose.
The guy has won, I don’t know, 180 some games. Now, again, it’s Utah, and I’m not busting Utah.
It’s Utah and the Big 12, okay? And that’s a lot different than the Big Ten. but he’s a good football man.
“He’s got good football coaches around him. He cares about the kids.
He’s not going to do anything to embarrass the University of Michigan at all off the field. I think you got to give him time.
The guy’s been there, you know, he came in January.... And I think giving him some time to do it, he’s won.
He’s a winner. He’s a good man.
He’s a good football coach.”
Poggi is currently working as an analyst, but he’s made it known he wants to coach again. He has already spoken about the Maryland opening after the Terrapins fired Mike Locksley. For now, Michigan turns its attention to Michigan State on Saturday night, with the Wolverines trying to pick up their sixth win of the season.
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