Michigan brings back Jim Harbaugh's 'trusted agent' Biff Poggi as associate head coach

Michigan brings back Jim Harbaugh’s ‘trusted agent’ Biff Poggi as associate head coach

Posted by author February 24, 2025 Football

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Biff Poggi is returning to the University of Michigan football team as associate head coach.
Poggi previously served as an analyst and associate head coach for the Wolverines before becoming the head coach at Charlotte.

The Biff is back.

Biff Poggi, 65, who previously worked for Michigan football as an analyst in 2016 and then as an associate head coach in 2021-22, but more recently served as the Charlotte head football coach the past two years, has returned to Ann Arbor.

The University of Michigan Athletic Department directory lists Poggi as associate head coach underneath the man entering his second year at the helm, Sherrone Moore.

Program spokesman Dave Ablauf did not confirm the hire when the Free Press initially heard of the move on Feb. 2. He also did not immediately respond to a message when asking to confirm the move on Monday afternoon.

Though he’s been at the collegiate level for more than a decade, Poggi is likely more well known for his time as a head coach in high school, where he grew the Baltimore-based Gilman School (1996-2015) and later Saint Frances Academy (2017-20) into national powerhouses.

Saint Frances, also in Baltimore, finished in the top 10 nationally every season he was there and won state championships in both 2017 and 2018. It created a pipeline from the DMV to Ann Arbor, and was home of well known U-M players like Blake Corum, Derrick Moore, Jaishawn Barham and Nikhai Hill-Green to name a few.

At Saint Frances, teams in Maryland actually stopped playing Poggi’s team after they easily won state titles in 2017 and 2018 with a host of national-level recruits.

Poggi was let go from his job in late November at Charlotte and less than a week later returned to Michigan for the Wolverines’ senior day romp over Northwestern, which finished as a 50-6 beatdown.

“Great being “back home” at Michigan,” Poggi posted on social media. “The players, coaches, staff, administration and fans were so welcoming. It feels great to have a football home. It all started years ago with my son Henry Poggi’s career as a player and my great friend Jim Harbaugh. Special people and place.”

During his last stint in Ann Arbor, Poggi was widely credited with reshaping the culture in Ann Arbor during that 2021 season after a disastrous 2020 campaign. Former head coach Harbaugh considered him a key piece of the Michigan coaching staff.

“Biff has been a tremendous asset to our University of Michigan Football program, providing support and mentorship to our coaching staff and players,” Harbaugh said when Poggi left for Charlotte. “He has a great football mind, knows how to prepare a team during the week and on game day, and is a coach that aims to change the lives of his players in a positive way. Biff is a trusted agent and known friend, and I know that his leadership and ability to develop a team-first culture will be a huge asset to the Charlotte 49ers.”

Poggi would go on to a 6-16 in two years at Charlotte, which included a 4-10 record in the AAC.

Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.