Biff Poggi makes his case to become Maryland’s next head football coach originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Former Michigan Wolverines interim coach Biff Poggi threw his name in the mix to be Maryland’s next head football coach. Poggi was born in Baltimore and has ties to the area.
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The 66-year-old Big Ten Network analyst marveled at the chance to become the Terrapins’ next head man in charge.
“Yeah, I really would like the job,” Poggi said in a phone interview with the Baltimore Sun.
Poggi coached at Gilman and St. Frances Academy in Baltimore. At Gilman, he had a 135-43 record, won 13 conference championships and was the winningest coach in school history. At St. Frances, he helped an underfunded Catholic school become national contenders. Poggi told the Baltimore Sun that he firmly believes Maryland has the talent and resources to win in the Big Ten.
“Don’t think you can think, ‘Hey, we’re just going to hire a new coach, and everything’s going to be better,'” Poggi said. “There have been plenty of coaches there that haven’t won.”
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In Poggi’s three-game stretch as the Wolverines’ interim coach, he went 2-1 and lost 41-27 to Texas in the Citrus Bowl. But this was during his third tenure at Michigan.
He originally joined Michigan with Harbaugh in 2016 as an analyst before returning in 2021 and 2022 as associate head coach. During his second tenure, the Wolverines went 25-3 and made appearances in the College Football Playoffs.
Despite his success in Michigan, his stint at Charlotte was nothing like it. Poggi spent two seasons as head coach in Charlotte, posting a 6-16 record before returning to Michigan in 2025.
Poggi laid out his plan to rebuild, including hiring like-minded coaches with similar goals and attacking the transfer portal aggressively. He also mentioned how Maryland struggles to attract renowned assistant coaches and took a shot at their “pretty weak” coaching staff.
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Poggs estimates Maryland needs $25 million to $28 million annually in player compensation to build a competitive roster, combining institutional revenue sharing with corporate sponsorships.
“If Indiana can win, we can win.”
Although Poggi has not spoken to Maryland’s athletic director, Jim Smith, he believes he has the resources and knowledge of the area to win, and his resume speaks for itself.
“If I was named the Maryland coach, I would have 50 calls that day from kids and their agents.”
Will Maryland come calling? We will see what happens next.
