Biff Poggi has made it clear he wants the Maryland head football coaching job. After Maryland parted ways with Mike Locksley following a 2-5 start, Poggi publicly said, “Yeah, I really would like the job.”
The 66-year-old Poggi is currently a Big Ten Network analyst and has built a long coaching résumé that includes high school success, college work at Michigan and a one-year run at Charlotte. His pitch for Maryland is rooted in familiarity with the Baltimore-Washington region and a belief that the program can win if it is properly supported.
Poggi's case starts with his background. He spent 19 seasons as Gilman School's head coach after first serving there as an assistant from 1988-1995, then helped build St. Frances Academy into a national factor. From 2017 to 2020, St. Frances went 34-1 under his program-building and investment approach. He later worked at Michigan in multiple roles, including as an analyst for Jim Harbaugh in 2016 and as associate head coach from 2021-22.
His college head-coaching stop came at Charlotte, where he was fired in 2024 with two games left in the season after a 6-16 record. Poggi rejoined Michigan in 2025 as associate head coach, and in December 2025 he took over again at Michigan after Sherrone Moore was fired.
Why Poggi thinks Maryland can win
Poggi did not frame Maryland as a place that needs a total reinvention. Instead, he argued the issue is not simply hiring another coach and expecting everything to change. His point was that there have been plenty of coaches there that haven’t won, which is why he sees deeper support as the key factor.
He also pointed to Indiana as an example, saying, “If Indiana can win, we can win.” For Poggi, the Big Ten challenge is real, but not disqualifying.
The biggest number in his pitch was financial. Poggi said Maryland would need to spend $25-28 million annually on player compensation to give itself a legitimate chance in the Big Ten. That figure shows how much the economics of roster building now shape a coaching search.
Poggi also said that if he got the Maryland job, he would immediately get to work on recruiting, adding that he would have 50 calls that day from kids and their agents. He also said he and Jim Smith and senior deputy athletic director Diana Sabau would make a lot of visits in the first week.
Maryland's search is now open, and Poggi has plainly entered the conversation. Whether the school views his mix of Baltimore-area ties, experience at Michigan and St. Frances Academy, and willingness to speak bluntly about the resources needed to win as the right fit will determine what happens next.
