ORLANDO, Fla. — With staffing decisions still to be made by new Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham, one name can confidently say he’s moving on.

Biff Poggi, who served as the team’s interim coach in the lead up to Wednesday’s Citrus Bowl, told reporters at Camping World Stadium after the Wolverines’ 41-27 loss to Texas that he will not return in 2026.

“It is my last game at Michigan,” said Poggi, a former hedge-fund manager and Jim Harbaugh staffer who returned to the school this year.

Poggi, 65, was in his third stint at Michigan, where he began in 2016 as an analyst and close confidant of Harbaugh. Best known for his tough, no-nonsense demeanor, he quickly earned the respect of the coaches and roster for his caring attitude.

He would be drawn back to the high school ranks in 2017, where he coached at Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore and helped fund the school’s athletic department. Poggi would return to Michigan in 2021 as Harbaugh’s associate head coach, helping reshape the culture and turn the Wolverines into a Big Ten contender. Another coaching job drew him away again in 2023, this time at the University of Charlotte, where Poggi spent two seasons before he was fired after going 6-16.

Former Michigan coach Sherrone Moore, who was fired by the school earlier this month for engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a staffer, invited Poggi back for the 2025 season. Poggi was named interim head coach for wins over Central Michigan and Nebraska as Moore served a two-game suspension for violating NCAA rules, then tapped as interim coach the day Moore was fired.

“I have been a head coach in over 300 football games, at all levels,” Poggi said. “There has never been a team that I’ve been prouder of than this team.”

Poggi praised Michigan’s perseverance the last couple of weeks, describing a team left betrayed by its former head coach, who was subsequently jailed and charged with three-degree home invasion, stalking and breaking and entering follow an incident at the staffer’s residence. The story became national news, creating a black eye for the school and program.

He said athletic director Warde Manuel gave him one directive, “to take care of the kids,” and that’s what he aimed to do. He even threw his name into consideration for the job.

“The kids competed so hard today. They played so hard,” Poggi said. “This isn’t a rebuild at all; I think that would be short-changing kids where they are. And I think coach Whittingham is going to do a fantastic job here. He’s going to have a lot of really good players back. He’s also going to bring players in.”

Poggi has called the 66-year-old Whittingham “just what the doctor ordered” for Michigan, a football team void of veteran leadership. He’ll hand over the reins of the program to Whittingham in the coming days, paving the way for a new regime.

“I think he’s going to find a full cupboard,” Poggi said. “A bunch of willing kids who are great kids. People talk about Michigan and what it takes to be a ‘Michigan man.’ I have a son that’s a ‘Michigan man;’ I’m not a Michigan man. I didn’t go there.

“But these kids that are here are the definition of that. I think he’s going to love that.”