Poggi says Wolverines are close to a hire

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan interim football coach Biff Poggi had a Zoom call with the program’s signees and their parents just hours after Sherrone Moore was fired last week, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Monday.

Poggi told the players and their parents that athletic director Warde Manuel hoped to have a new coach hired by the end of the month, said the person, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share details from the call.

Moore’s firing left the No. 18 Wolverines scrambling to retain recruits and give current players reasons to stay out of the transfer portal.

That’s going to be quite a challenge.

Michigan has begun practicing for their bowl game with Poggi and assistants, none of whom know if they will be a part of the team’s staff in 2026.

The Wolverines announced less than two weeks ago that 27 prospects signed commitments to play football for the maize and blue and the class was ranked No. 11 by 247Sports.

Two of those players, however, asked for and were granted their release by the school.

Matt Ludwig, a four-star tight end from Montana, has already switched his commitment to Texas Tech and Bear McWhorter, an offensive lineman from Georgia, opened up his recruitment last week.

“In light of recent events, I’ve made the very difficult decision to withdraw,” McWhorter posted Friday on Instagram.

Moore was fired Wednesday after the school said an investigation uncovered evidence of his inappropriate relationship with a staffer. He was later jailed for two nights and charged with three crimes.

While a search firm helps Michigan quickly look for a new coach, other colleges are taking advantage of the opportunity to make offers to the Wolverines’ signees because they’re in a 30-day window to potentially get released.

“Every day that a new coach isn’t in place, there’s a risk in more players asking for their release and current players planning to go in the portal,” Allen Trieu, 247Sports national recruiting analyst, said in a telephone interview. “Time is of essence, if the primary goal is to keep the recruiting class in place.

Chiefs face uncertain future

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs know they will be playing out the final three games of the season without Patrick Mahomes, who will soon undergo surgery to repair the torn left ACL that he sustained in a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers that eliminated them from playoff contention.

That much is clear.

The rest of the future is far more hazy for an organization that for the past decade has been playing well into January, and often into February, and then spent the offseason simply reinforcing a brilliant but suddenly aging core of star players.

Will Mahomes sufficiently recover by the start of next season? Will tight end Travis Kelce retire? And coach Andy Reid, for that matter? Will general manager Brett Veach finally hit on some skill position talent, especially in the early rounds of the draft? And can the Chiefs find someone — anyone — who is capable of pressuring the quarterback on an every-down basis?

“You know, I’m always optimistic about going forward,” Reid said Monday. “Brett Veach does a heck of a job with bringing in players. You can see now with the guys playing. And then it’s our responsibility on the coaching side of it, and the players taking responsibility on their end, and playing these three games, and whoever is here after to retool it.”

The finishing kick begins with a trip to lowly Tennessee on Sunday.

Kelce recently said he would inform the Chiefs on whether he plans to retire by early March, before the start of free agency, so they have a chance to plan accordingly. Role players such as wide receiver Marquise Brown, running back Isiah Pacheco, cornerback Jaylen Watson and safety Bryan Cook are pending free agents, and there are holes throughout the roster.

The most pressing needs are at wide receiver, where Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy have failed to take the next step into becoming a No. 1 target; running back, where Pacheco and Kareem Hunt have failed to provide any pop; and defensive end, where the Chiefs have struggled to generate a pass rush throughout the season.

Oh, and quarterback. They have nobody under contract besides Mahomes for next season.

“When you lose close games, you search for things,” Reid said, “because you want to fix it. And sometimes it’s a penalty here, it’s a turnover here. You get a variety of things. It’s always one little thing that determines close games, normally.”