Five things you need to know about HC Biff Poggi

On Wednesday, the Michigan Wolverines fired head coach Sherrone Moore. 

The varsity revealed that it discovered “credible proof” he had an inappropriate relationship with a workers member (h/t ESPN’s Dan Wetzel). He was later detained by police. No expenses have been filed but.

Michigan has named Biff Poggi because the interim HC for the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl towards the Texas Longhorns on Jan. 31. The 66-year-old coach has an uncommon profession path. Listed below are 5 issues you must learn about it: 

Biff Poggi is a hedgefund manager-turned-football coach

Poggi, a former offensive lineman, performed for the Pittsburgh Panthers in 1979 earlier than transferring and ending his profession with the Duke Blue Devils. He wished to enter teaching instantly, however his father-in-law felt he ought to pursue a extra profitable profession.

He turned to Wall Avenue. After changing into fascinated with the inventory market, his father-in-law gave him a small funding in 1986. He subsequently turned that right into a 30-year profession. When he stop managing funds to change into a coach full-time, he was a multimillionaire. 

In a story published in August 2018, ESPN’s Gene Wojciechowski reported Poggi owned a jet and a “conga line of enterprise investments.” Clearly, he is financially safe, however he did not quit on his dream as a result of he wished to make a constructive affect on individuals’s lives.

“No human being has ever escaped loss of life,” Poggi mentioned, per Wojciechowski. “We’re all going to the identical place. And at a while, all of us are going to ask ourselves the query: ‘What distinction did we make for the least of them?’ … I made a decision I didn’t need to water-ski behind yachts. I wished to do one thing else.”  

Biff Poggi turned a struggling highschool soccer program right into a powerhouse from scratch

Poggi clearly practices what he preaches.

After spending one season as an analyst for Michigan, Poggi turned the HC for St. Frances Academy in Baltimore in 2017. Per Wojciechowski, he poured greater than $2.5M into this system. That funding labored out.

From 2017-19, St. Frances Academy gained three straight state championships beneath Poggi. He additionally despatched a number of gamers to Division I faculties, and a few would later play within the NFL. That included former Michigan RB Blake Corum (now with the Los Angeles Rams).

Biff Poggi has an uncommon vogue assertion

Poggi likes to put on cutoff T-shirts. Whereas he served as Charlotte 49ers HC from 2023-24, it turned his signature look. In a narrative revealed in September 2023, the coach instructed ESPN’s Mark Schlabach he likes to put on these shirts to remain cool. 

College directors weren’t followers of the look. When Charlotte president Sharon Gaber and athletic director Mike Hill noticed him carrying one throughout a information convention, they instructed him not to take action in public settings. He did not hear.

Poggi wore it throughout practices, information conferences and the workforce picture in 2023. He initially wore a polo shirt to image day, however gamers refused to partake till he modified garments. No less than, the varsity profited from it. It began promoting Poggi-inspired shirts in its bookstore in 2023. 

Poggi wore common shirts when he stuffed in for Moore (suspended for his alleged position in a sign-stealing scandal from 2021-23) in Weeks 3 and 4 this season. However maybe he’ll put on one in the course of the Citrus Bowl, performed at Tenting World Stadium in Orlando, the place it is often sunny. 

Biff Poggi helped former Michigan HC Jim Harbaugh save his profession

After Michigan went 2-4 in the course of the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Harbaugh was on the new seat. To avoid wasting his job, he rehired Poggi as an affiliate HC. That will have been probably the greatest choices of his profession.  

“I feel Biff’s presence there may be enormous,” former Michigan defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald (now Seattle Seahawks HC) instructed The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman in 2022. “He is type of just like the consigliere. He is actually the one man to hash it out with [Harbaugh].” 

Poggi’s willingness to problem Harbaugh in the end benefited the HC. Whereas he was on his workers, the Wolverines beat the Ohio State Buckeyes twice and made two School Soccer Playoff appearances. 

Harbaugh used the teachings he discovered from Poggi to win a nationwide championship in the course of the 2023 season, which helped him land the Los Angeles Chargers head-coaching job. 

Former Michigan TE Jake Butt believes Biff Poggi is the proper man for the job

Poggi is strolling right into a difficult scenario. The Moore storyline additional taints Michigan’s picture, already tarnished by the sign-stealing scandal. 

Poggi additionally struggled whereas at Charlotte, going 6-16. Nonetheless, Butt believes he is the proper coach to assist the Wolverines (9-3) keep the course amid a turbulent time. 

“He is the person for the job to try this in a very powerful scenario,” Butt mentioned Wednesday night time on Massive Ten Community (h/t The Athletic’s Seth Dochterman). He additionally known as him a “trusted chief.”