Michigan fans should toast Biff Poggi on this New Year's Day.
Poggi, who became interim head coach when Sherrone Moore was fired, said yesterday's Citrus Bowl was his final game coaching with the Wolverines. The 66-year-old coach will not be part of Kyle Whittingham's staff after three different stints as an assistant with Michigan. Poggi also started the football program at St. Frances Academy in Baltimore and had a stint as head coach at Charlotte.
But, more than anything, Poggi considers himself an honorary Michigan man, and he was there to serve the football program at the time when it needed him most.
Biff Poggi announced at the Citrus Bowl postgame press conference that this was his last game coaching at Michigan. pic.twitter.com/DSDN8SFj9A
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) January 1, 2026
"It is my last game at Michigan. This is a program that won nine games this year and played a lot fo really good teams in the Big Ten," Poggi said."This isn't a rebuild at all. I think that would be shortchanging the kids and where they are and I think Coach Whittigham is going to do a fantastic job here."
Poggi couldn't stay away from Michigan
Poggi joined the Michigan staff as an analyst under Jim Harbaugh in 2016 after 20 years with the Gilman School in Maryland, and spent a year with the program before going to St. Frances to become the head coach of the program he was bankrolling. During those five seasons there, he built St. Frances into a national high school football powerhouse. The Panthers-to-Wolverines pipeline included players like running back Blake Corum.
He returned to Michigan in 2021 as an associate head coach and stayed there until taking the Charlotte job in 2023. After he was fired at Charlotte, Poggi came back to work under Moore this season. And when Moore was fired, Poggi was there to pick up the pieces.
To Michigan ,all of our former Michigan Men players , Warde Manuel our Regents, President and our fans. Thank you for the honor of serving. I will always call Michigan my football home. God Bless you with true meaning in your lives of service to others, a deep faith in God and…
— Biff poggi (@BiffPoggi) January 1, 2026
Poggi's son, Sam, was a fullback at Michigan in the mid-2010s.
His love of the players at Michigan shined through over the past month, and now he leaves the program in the very capable hands of Whittingham.
"People talk about what it means to be a Michigam man. The kids here are the definition of that," Poggi said.I" think [Whittingham] is going to love that."