When Tony Alford was hired at Michigan to be the running backs coach, it felt like a fox was entering the hen house. Alford had coached at Ohio State for nine years, was an Ohio native, and was deeply rooted in the Ohio State program, but when push came to shove and he made the move to the Wolverines, his coaching excellence superseded all of that.
Even Alford was one of the first to admit it wasn't easy going from one side of the most intense rivalry in college football to the other. He said for a solid year he struggled to even utter "Go Blue," also joking his kids only knew Michigan as "The Team Up North." However, when it came to doing his job, Alford didn't shy away from shaping young men as football players and as people, no matter the color of their uniform.
The saddest part of Alford's move, as he shared on the Hail Media podcast, was the fact that some people in his life couldn't get over the fact that he simply took a job somewhere else and were "conditional" friends, turning their backs on him and his family.
"I lost a lot of people who I thought were friends when I made the move here [Michigan]," Alford said.
EXCLUSIVE: Michigan running backs coach Tony Alford explains why it took him nearly a year to say "Go Blue."
— HailMedia (@hailmediagroup) August 6, 2026
"It doesn't change what I do. It just changed shirts." pic.twitter.com/yYOCtEV0Dw
When Tony Alford left Ohio State, his players ended up being the most mature about it
Alford was quick to admit that it wasn't easy to leave Ohio State, but he also understands that these are transient jobs; they aren't forever, and it just made sense for him and his family to move on from the Buckeyes. It just so happened to be Michigan that he moved on to, which in the eyes of some people in Alford's life was something unforgivable.
Rivalries are meant to be intense and sure, you hate the guts of the guy on the other team, but there has to be a line when it comes to those rivalries, and clearly some people in Alford's life didn't see that. It says a lot when Alford shared that the people who actually took the news the best were his players at Ohio State.
While his guys were sad to see him go, they understood the hustle and respected Alford for it. Ya know, Alford made a good point when it comes to rivalries, this one between Ohio State and Michigan to be exact, saying that while you may hate the guys in the other locker room, there is a level of respect in knowing the hard work both teams put out on the field.
Maybe fans on both sides of the rivalry have a little something to learn from Alford and the guys who actually go out on the field and compete. Clearly, some Ohio State fans could take a page from the players' books with the way they treated Alford after his move to Michigan.
Alford is one of the only coaches that Kyle Whittingham kept on staff when he came to Michigan, and with the way he speaks about his guys, it makes sense why. Alford is now tasked with coaching a very talented running back group for the Wolverines, but something tells me he is still focusing on building good players on and off the field.
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