Tony Alford’s move from Ohio State to Michigan was always going to sting in Columbus. What he didn’t seem prepared for was how personal the backlash would get.
Alford, now the Wolverines’ running backs coach, spent nine years at Ohio State and came into Ann Arbor with deep ties to the Buckeyes and to the state itself. Even so, he took the leap and kept doing the same job he’s always done: coaching players hard and trying to shape them as people, regardless of the jersey they wore.
On the Hail Media podcast, Alford opened up about the part of the switch that hit him hardest. It wasn’t the rivalry, or even the awkwardness of crossing from one side of college football’s fiercest divide to the other. It was losing people he thought were in his corner.
"I lost a lot of people who I thought were friends when I made the move here [Michigan]," Alford said.
He also admitted that the transition wasn’t simple on a personal level. For nearly a year, he said he struggled to even say "Go Blue," and he joked that his kids only knew Michigan as "The Team Up North."
Still, once it came time to work, Alford didn’t flinch. His job stayed the same, even if the color of the shirt changed.
That’s part of what makes his perspective on rivalry so interesting. Alford understands the heat between Ohio State and Michigan, but he also drew a clear line between competition and how people treat one another away from the field. In his telling, the players at Ohio State handled his departure better than some adults in his life did.
The guys in his old locker room were disappointed, but they got it. They understood the nature of the profession and respected the move. That, more than anything, seemed to underline Alford’s point: you can hate the opponent on Saturdays, but there’s still room for respect when everybody knows how hard the work really is.
And that’s why the reaction from some fans and former friends landed so hard. Alford’s departure to Michigan was enough to make him a villain in certain circles, even though, as he sees it, he was simply taking a job and doing what was best for his family.
Now with the Wolverines, Alford is coaching a strong running back group and still doing things the same way he always has. The staff trust around him clearly runs deep, too. Alford is one of the only coaches that Kyle Whittingham kept on staff when he came to Michigan, a detail that fits with how he talks about the players he works with.
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