The new interim Michigan football coach, stepping in after Sherrone Moore’s surprising firing Wednesday, has a highly lucrative fallback if his time with the Wolverines proves short-lived.
Francis “Biff” Poggi, 65, made his fortune running a multi-million-dollar hedge fund before turning to prep and college coaching.
In 1986, Poggi used a $25,000 loan to launch Samuel James Limited, a hedge fund he eventually grew to be worth hundreds of millions, according to Charlotte Magazine.
“His name is Biff Poggi. He made a generational fortune, almost by accident, as an investment fund manager. He owns a private jet, a string of business ventures, and a sprawling estate in one of Baltimore’s most desirable suburbs,” ESPN wrote in 2018.
Ask Poggi who’s having the better financial year—himself or his former boss, Jim Harbaugh, who reportedly earned $7 million last year—and the 57-year-old will laugh without hesitation: “Me, of course.”
Michigan interim coach Biff Poggi (Photo: Rick Osentoski)
Biff Poggi took over as Michigan’s interim coach following Sherrone Moore’s shocking departure. Moore is alleged to have had an “inappropriate relationship with a staff member” and was later detained by Michigan police.
Poggi played college football at Pittsburgh in the early 1980s before graduating from Duke in 1984. He then pursued a coaching career at the collegiate level, working with Brown, The Citadel, and Temple, according to ESPN, before returning to Baltimore to care for his mother after she was diagnosed with cancer.
Even after returning home, Poggi continued coaching as a volunteer at Gilman School.
His life took a major turn in 1986 when his father-in-law encouraged him to explore the financial world, according to ESPN. That advice led to more than 30 years in finance while giving him the freedom to eventually return to his coaching passion.
“By the time Poggi quit managing those funds full-time, the value had grown to hundreds of millions of dollars,” ESPN’s Gene Wojciechowski wrote seven years ago
Biff Poggi celebrating during a game against Nebraska
“His investments now span energy distribution, logistics, real estate, and biotech. Poggi’s financial success gave him the freedom to pursue his bucket list—and coaching was at the top of the list,” according to reports.
Poggi spent 19 years at Gilman School, including eight as head coach. He joined Michigan’s staff as an analyst in 2016 before founding the football program at Baltimore’s Saint Frances Academy in 2017, where he led the team through 2020.
According to his Michigan bio, Poggi funded 65 scholarships, and ESPN noted he personally contributed $60,000 to help launch the program, coaching without pay.
He returned to Michigan in 2021 under Jim Harbaugh as associate head coach for two years before taking a head coaching position at Charlotte. At Charlotte, Poggi went 3-9 in his first season and 3-7 last year before being dismissed in November.
Poggi returned to Ann Arbor for the 2025 season as Sherrone Moore’s associate head coach and is credited with stepping in as interim coach earlier this year, leading Michigan to victories over Central Michigan and Nebraska while Moore was suspended due to NCAA penalties.
He will guide the Wolverines against Texas in the Citrus Bowl on Dec. 31. Betting lines have shifted in favor of the Longhorns, with Michigan now listed as 7.5-point underdogs at BetMGM.
“Michigan, to me, is honestly just like home,” Poggi told The Athletic. “I feel like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. I just want to go home, and Michigan is that for me.”
