Michigan football: Jim Harbaugh's right-hand man leaving for an FBS head coaching job
Biff Poggi, one of Michigan football’s most critical support staff pieces under head coach Jim Harbaugh, is departing the program to take the head coaching job at Charlotte. The news was first reported by On3’s Matt Zenitz.
Poggi, who turned Baltimore St. Frances Academy into a national powerhouse, has served Michigan in two different stints as Harbaugh’s associate head coach. He first joined the program during the 2016 season while his son, Henry Poggi, was a fullback on the team. Poggi rejoined Michigan ahead of the 2021 season and has continued to serve in the associate head coach role.
Players from St. Frances on the Michigan roster include star running back Blake Corum, linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green, pass rusher Derrick Moore and transfer Eyabi Okie, who joined the Wolverines in training camp. Okie joined the program with a bit of baggage, but Poggi has been his biggest supporter and a driving force for his arrival at Michigan.
Poggi is seen as one of the critical figures in helping Harbaugh turn the culture back around at Michigan over the last few seasons. He has served as a liaison between players and coaches while also serving as a resource for Harbaugh and his assistants.
“Biff’s a great mentor and has been that for me,” Harbaugh told The Athletic in a recent Poggi profile. “He likes to scheme it up, and he knows how to coach and helps coach the coaches. … As far as helping me personally, there’s not too many decisions that I make that I don’t run by Biff and we talk it out.”
“No doubt in my mind,” Harbaugh said in reference to whether Poggi would be a candidate for a head coaching job. “He’s got it all. I’d work for Biff. His relationship to everybody else is never king-to-subject. It’s friend-to-friend. It’s collaborative and always about the team.”
Poggi led his alma mater, Gilman H.S., to 13 state championships in 19 years and left in 2016 to join Harbaugh at U-M. He also has coaching experience at Brown, Temple and The Citadel.
