This fall, Michigan football interim coach Biff Poggi said he wasn’t interested in becoming a head coach again – he liked his role as a father figure of the program, serving as an experienced mind to bounce things off of, all while having time to spend with his grandkids.
But now? Speaking with reporters Monday, Dec. 22, in Schembechler Hall – in the Wolverines’ last public appearance before their Citrus Bowl matchup with Texas in Orlando, Florida, on Dec. 31 (3 p.m., ABC) – he said, in no uncertain terms, that he does want the job.
And then he laid out his reasons.
“Because I know what the hell I’m doing,” Poggi said. “I have a long, 10-year history of knowledge of this place. This place is really important to me. … This place is magical, the program means a lot to me and it’s one of the things I want to fix before I go smoke myself to death with cigars. It’s one of the things I want to fix.
“I want to fix this program.”
Sherrone Moore was fired as coach Dec. 10 after credible evidence surfaced he had a long-term relationship with a staffer. He was later arrested after allegedly breaking into the staffer’s home and was charged with felony home invasion, misdemeanor stalking and misdemeanor breaking and entering.
It’s the latest scandal and arrest involving the program over the past decade, with incidents piling up the past three years specifically, leading to an investigation into the athletic department by an outside law firm.
“It’s been five years of a malfunctioning organization. Let’s call it what it is, it’s happened every year,” Poggi said. “The athletic director doesn’t want any more of that. … There will be a massive self-examination of what’s happened in this building.”
Poggi called it a “great challenge” the past few weeks to go from a role that he called largely “babysitting” to one where he’s back atop the coaching pyramid. Poggi said he has had multiple interviews and conversations with U-M’s decision-makers.
Athletic director Warde Manuel spoke to the team Monday and told the players and coaches the goal is to make a coaching decision some time between Dec. 25-Jan. 1 − before the two-week transfer-portal window opens Jan. 2, 2026. (Players will also have five days to enter the transfer portal once Michigan names a permanent coach, and 15 days after that to choose a destination.)
Poggi made a subtle sales pitch to anybody watching − there were many onlookers from the lofted upper floors that oversee the Towsley Museum including GM Sean McGee, team pastor Robby Emery and broadcaster (and Michigan alumnus) Jon Jansen − on the importance of acting quickly.
Despite the NCAA’s adoption of a set Jan. 2-16 transfer-portal window for this offseason, Poggi urged a speedy decision, noting, “Deals are being done now. … Every big school in the country, those deals are getting done right now.”
Now, the Wolverines are on the hunt for their coacgh. Players have already publicly backed him as the next man for the job. Poggi might not be the favorite, but he’s no longer the longshot he was once thought to be.
“Nobody knows what’s going to happen, I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said. “I just appreciate being considered.”
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Biff Poggi hopes to be Michigan coach, fix ‘malfunctioning’ program
Reporting by Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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