Former Michigan QB Devin Gardner shares who should become the Wolverines' next HC

Michigan is now in Day 12 of its head coach search and it's quite possible the Wolverines' search takes longer than anticipated. Michigan's top two targets are seemingly off the board after Alabama and Kalen DeBoer advanced in the College Football Playoff, and Kenny Dillingham inked a big contract with Arizona State.

The Wolverines are on their next set of targets, but there isn't a whole lot of clarity out there on who they might be. Names such as Jeff Brohm, Eli Drinkwitz -- who just hired Chip Lindsey --, and Jedd Fisch popped back up.

But one name that most Michigan fans aren't taking into consideration is interim head coach Biff Poggi. The former Michigan staffer and Charlotte head coach is currently leading the show, and former Michigan QB Devin Gardner insists that Poggi is the man for the job.

"The best way forward for [Michigan football] is to name Biff Poggi the 22nd head coach of the University of Michigan, not interim, Head Coach," Gardner wrote on his X account.

The case for Biff Poggi

Michigan coach Biff Poggi — Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It's true that Poggi doesn't have much college football head coaching experience and that he went 6-16 in less than two years with Charlotte. However, Charlotte doesn't have the resources or the team to compete with the better teams.

While it might seem like a stretch that Poggi becomes the Wolverines' next head coach -- there is a portion making a case for Poggi in Ann Arbor. Parents, players, and some signees all would like to see Poggi become the next head coach to keep everything intact.

If Michigan feels like it's too late in the head coach cycle, the Wolverines could opt to give Poggi a year to see what he can do leading the program before doing this search all over again. It certainly seems risky, though.

Having a 'wait-and-see' approach could hurt recruiting if players don't know who they will be playing for. Obviously, if 2026 went well under Poggi, he would remain the man in Ann Arbor, but if not, Michigan would have to re-start this search, and the speculation would start all over again.

Whatever Michigan does -- the Wolverines need to get it right, and there isn't a ton of time left to get it right.

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