Biff Poggi will not return to Michigan in 2026, he said. Poggi served as the Wolverines’ interim head coach for three games in 2025, including the Citrus Bowl vs. Texas.
“This isn’t a rebuild at all,” Poggi said of the program. “That would shortchange the kids, and coach (Kyle) Whittingham is going to do an amazing job.”
Whittingham was introduced as the next Wolverines head coach after spending more than two decades with Utah. Poggi, it appears, will not be around Ann Arbor for the next era at Michigan.
Poggi was 2-0 coaching the Wolverines as interim headman this season leading up to the Citrus Bowl. This included a 63-3 win over Central Michigan and a 30-27 road victory at Nebraska while former head coach Sherrone Moore faced suspension. He was given the nod to lead the program into the bowl game after the scandal that involved Moore, which resulted in his firing and subsequent arrest.
During Michigan’s head coaching search, Poggi said that he was a candidate to replace Moore for the full-time gig. He also revealed that Michigan was looking to make a hire before the Citrus Bowl, which the Wolverines did.
However, Michigan would opt to bring in Whittingham as the program’s next leader instead. He arrives with a strong track record during his time at Utah.
His 21 years with the Utes saw him establish Utah as one of the most consistent programs in all of college football over the past two decades. Across his 21 seasons at the helm, he led the Utes to a 177-88 record with three conference championships eight ten-win seasons, and an 11-6 bowl record.
Whittingham was introduced as Michigan’s head coach earlier in the week ahead of kickoff. There, he said his immediate priority will be setting his sights on retaining Michigan’s current roster and their recruits ahead of the NCAA transfer portal opening on Jan. 2.
He’ll need to put together his inaugural staff in short order as well, and we know at least Poggi won’t be a part of that. However, Whittingham was on-hand during the Citrus Bowl to reveal how fast his coaching staff is being pieced together.
“We’re just about finished,” Whittingham explained. “It hasn’t been announced officially yet. Until somebody’s on the dotted line, you never want to get ahead of yourself. But I think we’re in good shape. I think we’ll have probably about 90% of the staff named this weekend. Then we’ll finish off the next one or two over the course of next week.”
The immediate priority now is for Whittingham and his new staff to find Michigan’s next playmakers in the NCAA transfer portal. It’ll be open on Jan. 2 and close on Jan. 16.