Who is Biff Poggi? What to know about Michigan's interim head coach during Sherrone Moore suspension

Daniel Chavkin

Who is Biff Poggi? What to know about Michigan's interim head coach during Sherrone Moore suspension image

The Michigan Wolverines will have a new head coach for the next two weeks, as Sherrone Moore is serving his two-game suspension. In Moore's place is a familiar face, as Biff Poggi returns to the national spotlight.

Poggi is one of the biggest personalities in the sport, but he wasn't always headed towards college football. Poggi's life has led him to several different opportunities, from the stock market to high school football, but he's now working for the Wolverines.

As Moore leads Michigan for the second-straight season, he hired Poggi in the offseason to be his associate head coach. Here'e a look at Poggi's fascinating career.

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Who is Biff Poggi?

Biff Poggi is a college football coach who is known as one of the most-interesting people in the sport. In his 20s, he used to work in finance and made a lot of money working for his father-in-law. But he gave up that career to get into coaching in the 1980s.

Poggi has gone viral for his love of wearing sleeve-less shirts while coaching during games.

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Biff Poggi coaching timeline

1988-2015: Gilman School 

Poggi spent most of his career at the Gilman School in Baltimore, Maryland, first as the offensive coordinator then as the head coach for 19 years. The Gilman School is an all-boys, independent day school, which is where Poggi first attended as a student. He also went on to coach the high school football team. While there, Poggi led Gilman to 13 Maryland state titles.

2016: Michigan

In 2016, Poggi made the jump to college football as he joined Michigan for the first of three separate stints. Poggi served as an analyst for Jim Harbaugh's team in 2016, as the Wolverines went 10-3 on the year.

2017-2020 Saint Frances Academy

A year later, Poggi accepted the head coaching job at Saint Frances Academy high school in Maryland, which is where he spent each of the next four seasons. Poggi actually invested his own money into the program and was able to build it into a force that sent players to some of the best colleges in the country.

2021-2022: Michigan

Poggi returned to Michigan in 2021 as Jim Harbaugh's associate head coach, which is a role he held for two seasons. In that span, the Wolverines went 25-3 and made two College Football Playoff appearances, losing in the first round in both seasons.

2023-2024: Charlotte

Poggi got his first college head coaching job in 2023 with Charlotte as the 49ers were looking to build a successful program. However, Poggi never got the football team off the ground as he went 6-16 with Charlotte before the school fired him in the middle of the 2024 season.

2025: Michigan

For the third time, Michigan hired Poggi in 2025, this time as an associate head coach to second-year head coach Sherrone Moore.

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Where did Biff Poggi go to college?

Poggi played offensive line in college at both Pittsburgh and Duke in the late 1970s. While he was with Pittsburgh in 1979, Poggi played with future NFL players Dan Marino, Russ Grimm and Hugh Green.

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Where is Biff Poggi from?

Poggi grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, which is where he attended the Gilman School in high school. He then coached at Gilman School for over two decades along with four years at Saint Frances, which is also located in Baltimore. 

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Did Biff Poggi play in the NFL?

Poggi never played in the NFL, as he got into the finance industry after playing football in both high school and college. However, Poggi wasn't able to stay away from the sport as he returned to football as a coach in his mid-20s.

Daniel Chavkin

Daniel Chavkin is a Digital Content Producer for The Sporting News. A 2018 graduate from the University of Maryland, he has previously written for Sports Illustrated, NBC Sports and NFLTradeRumors.com.