The No. 21 Michigan Wolverines dominated in-state foe Central Michigan on Saturday to improve to 2-1 on the season. However, it wasn’t HC Sherrone Moore on the sideline, as he is serving a two-game suspension. Instead, associate head coach Biff Poggi filled in and guided the Wolverines, who looked like a well-oiled machine under his leadership.
Poggi recently explained how Jim Harbaugh convinced him to leave his high school head coaching job, while also sharing his new approach for freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood.
Biff Poggi Reveals Why He Left High School Coaching for Jim Harbaugh, Outlines New Bryce Underwood Approach
Before joining Michigan’s staff in 2017, Biff Poggi was the head coach at Gilman School, a high school in Baltimore, Maryland. At the time, his son Henry was playing for Michigan after Jim Harbaugh took over the program in 2015.
Poggi recently explained that not long after Harbaugh arrived in Ann Arbor, the head coach called and asked him to leave his high school job to come work with him at Michigan.
“This is a funny story.”
Biff Poggi on how Jim Harbaugh brought him to Michigan 😂 pic.twitter.com/JOA5tJXV0M
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 15, 2025
“We just started talking ball, and he [Harbaugh] said, ‘Why don’t you come up and join the staff?’ And I said, ‘Well, I’m running this high school program in Baltimore,’ and he said, ‘Well, yeah, yeah, why don’t you come up and join the staff?'” Poggi said
Although Poggi didn’t initially accept Harbaugh’s offer, he explained that the two finally met in person at the Citrus Bowl in 2016. They spent time in a hotel room breaking down offensive line blocking techniques, and it was during that meeting that Poggi realized he wanted to work for Harbaugh.
“We met in his hotel room, and we were demonstrating offensive line blocking techniques on a dresser that was in his hotel room, and then it was kind of love ever after that,” Poggi said.
Poggi went on to serve as an analyst for Harbaugh and the Wolverines in 2016 before becoming the head coach at Saint Frances Academy in 2017. He eventually returned to Michigan as Harbaugh’s associate head coach from 2021 to 2022, and after a brief stint at Charlotte, he rejoined the Wolverines in the same role this season.
Poggi is now serving as the team’s interim head coach while Sherrone Moore serves a two-game suspension related to the Connor Stalions sign-stealing scandal. In Moore’s absence, he led Michigan to a 63-3 victory over Central Michigan.
A key part of the Wolverines’ offensive success was five-star true freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood’s running ability. He rushed for 114 yards and two touchdowns after totaling just -6 yards on the ground through Michigan’s first two games.
When asked why he chose to utilize Underwood’s rushing ability more, Poggi explained that a coach’s job is to put players in a position to play to their strengths, as it’s ultimately the players who determine the outcome of games.
Biff Poggi on letting Bryce Underwood run: pic.twitter.com/VVQ3fMmYE6
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 15, 2025
“Coaches don’t win games, plays don’t win games — players win games,” Poggi said. “And you have to let your players play.”
Underwood was the No. 1 recruit in the 2025 class, largely because of his elite athletic ability at the quarterback position. Poggi allowed that talent to shine in the win over the Chippewas, and it appears he plans to continue leaning on Underwood’s legs in Michigan’s Week 4 Big Ten opener against Nebraska.
Poggi will once again serve as interim head coach when the Wolverines face the Cornhuskers. Kickoff is set for Saturday, September 20, at 3:30 p.m. ET, and coverage will be on CBS.
