Michigan is expected to hire former Charlotte head coach Biff Poggi as associate head coach, a source briefed on the decision told The Athletic on Monday. The 64-year-old Poggi played a key role in helping Jim Harbaugh turn around a Wolverines program that won a national title in 2023.
Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald, who ran the Wolverines defense in 2021, said Poggi’s presence inside the UM program was “huge” in helping Harbaugh elevate the program after it had backslid to 2-4 in 2020 and pressure was mounting on the head coach.
“He’s kind of like the consigliere,” Macdonald told The Athletic. “He’s really the only guy that is willing to hash it out with (Harbaugh).”
Poggi was hired in July 2021 at Michigan and had also been on the UM staff as an analyst in 2016. The former high school head coach didn’t just manage the Wolverine assistant coaches and connect with the players and their families, he was also a vital sounding board willing to have hard conversations with Harbaugh, becoming his right-hand man.
"Biff’s a great mentor and has been that for me,” Harbaugh told The Athletic in 2022. “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.”
Poggi was hired as the head coach of Charlotte after the 2022 season. He went 3-9 in his debut season and then was 3-7 when the 49ers fired him.