Michigan Football Reeling After Moore’s Firing, as Biff Poggi Steps in to Steady the Ship
The Michigan Wolverines are preparing for the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, but football is far from the only thing on their minds right now. Interim head coach Biff Poggi is stepping into a leadership role under deeply emotional and complex circumstances, following the dismissal of head coach Sherrone Moore.
Moore was fired last Wednesday after what the university described as an inappropriate relationship with a female staff member. The situation escalated when Moore allegedly confronted the woman and threatened suicide after she disclosed the relationship to investigators.
He was arrested and later arraigned on charges including third-degree home invasion, breaking and entering, and stalking. Moore was released from Washtenaw County Jail on Friday afternoon.
Now, with Moore out and the program in turmoil, Poggi has been promoted from associate head coach to interim head coach by athletic director Warde Manuel. And while Poggi has worn many hats in his coaching career, this moment is testing him in ways few could have imagined.
“It has been a tumultuous time,” Poggi said during a media availability session ahead of the bowl game. “A lot of anger and, at first, disbelief. The kids quite frankly feel very betrayed, and we’re trying to work through that.”
That sense of betrayal is real and raw. Moore wasn’t just a coach-he was a figure of trust and leadership for this group of players. His sudden and troubling exit has left a locker room trying to make sense of something that goes far beyond football.
Preparing for a game like the Citrus Bowl-against a powerhouse like Texas, no less-would be challenging under normal circumstances. But this? This is uncharted territory.
“Unique and complex, obviously,” Poggi said when asked how preparations were going. “Multiple levels of complexity that our young people are dealing with and our university is dealing with, our athletic director, Warde Manuel, is dealing with.
And our team, our coaches and our kids. I don’t know that you can prepare for something like this.”
Poggi isn’t just drawing up plays and organizing practices. He’s also become a sounding board, a counselor, and a source of emotional support for a team that’s been rocked to its core.
“I’ve met individually with all of the players multiple times, and with the parents-Zoomed with the parents multiple times,” Poggi said. “The message has been listening.
I want to listen to them. I want to understand how the kids are feeling and what their parents are feeling.
There’s been a wide range of emotions, as you can imagine.”
And those conversations aren’t just for show. They’re part of a larger effort to keep the team grounded and connected during a time when it would be easy to spiral.
“We are going through those steps. They’re not over yet, and I don’t expect them to be over for a while,” Poggi added.
“But our main message is, the mandate that Warde Manuel gave me was to love and take care of the kids. So that’s what I’m spending all of my time doing-loving kids.”
That kind of leadership-emotional, present, and people-first-might be exactly what Michigan needs right now. The X’s and O’s will come, but before the Wolverines can think about beating Texas, they have to heal.
Poggi knows it. The players feel it.
And the university is watching closely as this team tries to find its footing again.
For now, the Wolverines are holding together the best they can, leaning on each other and the man now tasked with guiding them through the storm. Football is still on the schedule. But for Michigan, the real battle is happening off the field.