65-year-old college football coach surges as candidate to replace Sherrone Moore at Michigan

The last of the Power Four college football head coaching openings remains available at Michigan.

The Wolverines decided to part ways with head coach Sherrone Moore on Dec. 10 due to inappropriate relations with a staffer. Michigan had its sights set on Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer, Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham and Washington head coach Jedd Fisch.

Though nothing was made official, Fisch was the first to bow out of the race. Alabama's College Football Playoff victory over Oklahoma eliminated DeBoer from the conversation, and Dillingham inked an extension with Arizona State on Saturday.

With all of those candidates off the board, one who has emerged in the next round is current Wolverines interim Biff Poggi. The interim said he had been interviewed for the job on multiple occasions this offseason.

Biff Poggi says he’s had multiple interviews for Michigan’s HC position. He also has some blunt words about the program’s shortcomings under Sherrone Moore, calling Michigan a “malfunctioning organization.”

“Everything that happens in this building has to be reevaluated.”
— Austin Meek (@byAustinMeek) December 22, 2025

Poggi began his college football coaching career as an assistant with stops at Brown, Temple and the Citadel in the late 1980s. He coached at his high school alma mater, The Gilman School, as an offensive coordinator and offensive line coach from 1988 to 1995. He spent the next 20 seasons as Gilman's head coach before returning to the college ranks.

The now 65-year-old spent two prior stints with the Wolverines under Jim Harbaugh. He worked as an analyst with the 2016 team and served as Michigan's associate head coach in 2021 and 2022.

Poggi was hired away from Michigan to succeed Will Healy as Charlotte's next head coach in the 2023 offseason. The 49ers were 3-9 in Poggi's first year at the helm, tying for eleventh place in the American Athletic Conference.

After a 3-7 start to the 2024 season, Charlotte decided to part ways with Poggi. The 49ers hired Tim Albin as his replacement for 2025.

This will not be the first time Poggi has served as the Wolverines' interim head coach. He was the interim for Michigan's games against Central Michigan and Nebraska.

The Wolverines accepted an invitation to the Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. No. 18 Michigan (9-3, 7-2) will face No. 13 Texas (9-3, 6-2) on Dec. 31 (3 p.m. EST, ABC).

Biff Poggi at the 2025 Michigan spring football game. — Michigan associate head coach Biff Poggi watches a play during the first half of the spring game | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images