Interim coach Poggi: Michigan a ‘malfunctioning organization’

michigan Interim coach Biff Poggi described the program as a “bad organization” after a series of high-profile scandals, which he hopes to “fix” if he becomes the team’s permanent coach.

Poggi, who has interviewed with athletic director Warde Manuel for the job, told reporters Monday that Michigan should do a “comprehensive self-examination of what happened in this building.”

The school fired coach Sharon Moore on December 10 for having an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. Moore was later charged with three crimes, including felony third-degree home invasion, after allegedly confronting a staff member at his home. He spent several nights in the Washtenaw County Jail before being released on $25,000 bond.

Michigan went through a signal-stealing scandal in 2023 involving former staff member Connor Stallions, which led to the Big Ten suspending coach Jim Harbaugh for the final three regular season games and giving other penalties. The program had a separate recruiting violation scandal that carried penalties for coaches, and also endured other scandals, including the firing of former offensive coordinator Matt Weiss, who was facing federal indictment for hacking college athletes’ computer accounts to access intimate photos and videos while working inside Michigan’s football building.

“It’s been five years of a bad organization,” said Poggi, in his third stint on the Michigan staff after working under both Moore and predecessor Jim Harbaugh. “Let’s call it what it is: It happens every year. Athletic directors want nothing more than that.”

Poggi will lead Michigan against Texas in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on December 31 in Florida. He said Monday that Manuel told the team he expected to name the next permanent coach before the game. The transfer portal opens on Jan. 2, and Michigan is hoping to retain the quarterback bryce underwoodThe nation’s No. 1 recruit last year, and other notable players.

Poggi, 65, worked as a hedge fund manager before entering coaching, spending most of his career as a high school coach in Maryland before joining Harbaugh’s staff for the first time in 2016. He returned as an associate head coach in 2021 before getting his only FBS head-coaching job at Charlotte, where he was fired before the end of his second season after going 6–16. Poggi returned to Michigan this season.

Asked why he would be a strong choice for the permanent job, Poggi said, “Because I know what I’m doing. … I want to fix this program.”