Biff Poggi bluntly calls Michigan a ‘malfunctioning organization,’ hopes to fix it

Interim head coach Biff Poggi revealed that athletic director Warde Manuel told the team that he hopes to hire the next head coach ahead of Michigan's bowl game on Dec. 31. Poggi, who also revealed he's been interviewed for the position, wants the job.

After spending less than two seasons coaching Charlotte, Poggi came back to Ann Arbor this season. He shared that he wants the job and wants to fix what's broken in Ann Arbor. After countless scandals within the football program, Poggi said everything needs reevaluated from a 'malfunctioning organization'.

"Well, first of all, I would like a Maize & Blue Batman suit for me to wear to the office every day," joked Poggi if he was awarded the job. "Now, look, we would go back—first of all, the entire—everything that happens in this building has to be re-evaluated, quite frankly, because it is not up to standard. The staff has to be re-evaluated. And I mean the coaches. I mean the analysts. I mean everybody in the building, except Dave [Ablauf], has to be evaluated.

"Our strength and conditioning, our nutrition, our medical, everything. Because obviously, it has been five years of let’s just call what it is, a malfunctioning organization where there’s something every year. And I know that—I know what the athletic director has made very clear. He doesn’t want any more of that. And so if I am named a coach, which again, I don’t know if I am, but there will be a massive self-examination of what happens in this building. And you can expect a lot of changes."

How talking to parents have changed since another issue within the program

One thing that appeared to be strong under Jim Harbaugh -- especially from 2021-2023 -- was the culture in Ann Arbor. But under Sherrone Moore, what appeared to be strong might have been breaking from within due to poor choices from the top down.

Regardless of whether Poggi is named the next head coach, or someone else, Poggi believes the first step is to fix the culture and the issues that present the football program on what feels like a yearly basis. Poggi said there have been a lot of hard talks with families.

"These are hard talks, okay," Poggi said of talking to players' families. "These are hard talks to have because one thing you have to do with players and their families, the minute they think you’re lying to them, it’s over. I believe that’s why the portal is so big and it’s getting bigger every year, and it will be bigger next year and the year after that and the year after that because kids are told things and their families are told things that aren’t true. So if I don’t know an answer that is asked from a kid or a parent, I’ll tell them I don’t know and I’ll do my best to find out. If I do know, I tell it to them whether I think they want to hear it or not.

"Look, let’s face it. The kids that have been here four and five years with their families, there’s been something kind of every year that’s been messy. I didn’t think of that and then one of the moms brought that up. Every year there’s been some issue. What are you going to say? No?

"You’re going to say yeah, and we’re going to fix it. Whoever the next guy in this seat is, his mandate is going to be to fix it and I feel very strongly about that. You’ve got to be honest with them.

"And you can’t, if you discount what they say to you, this recruiting class and the kids that are on the team will be playing someplace else. And the way we’ve kept it together is contact. I’ve been calling the kids, the recruits, commits, calling them, Zooming with their parents, texting them, and the players I spend, the current players on the roster, I spend an enormous amount of time with them and their parents as far as Zooms. But the kids in person, parents in Zooms."

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