Michigan news: Key Harbaugh assistant returns, transfer RB is top fit, Sherrone Moore’s rank

With the transfer portal window in the rearview, signing day right around the corner and spring practice not long after that, it's officially time to start looking forward to what sort of football team Michigan might be able to put on the field in 2025.

Sherrone Moore handled his first full offseason as head coach nimbly, landing several key transfers as well as a well-regarded recruiting class. But what work still remains undone? Let's take a lap around the latest Michigan news, including an addition to the coaching staff, a breakout year coming from a big new addition and where Moore ranks on a list of the 25 best coaches in the country.

Michigan news: Former Harbaugh assistant Biff Poggi returning to Ann Arbor

While Sherrone Moore has largely finalized his coaching staff for the upcoming season, replacing former offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell with Chip Lindsey, the Wolverines still found a way to add some valuable experience to the sideline over the weekend in former Charlotte head coach Biff Poggi.

A legend in the high school ranks in Maryland, Poggi spent two years on Jim Harbaugh's staff as associate head coach before taking the head job with the 49ers in 2023. He was fired near the end of the 2024 season after posing a 6-16 record in his first 22 games, but while his stint in Charlotte didn't work out, he still brings a ton of expertise — and, just as importantly, recruiting chops — to Moore's staff, where he'll once again serve as associate HC.

Poggi has tons of valuable high school relationships, particularly in the DMV area, and he also has seen up close and personal how Jim Harbaugh built the Michigan program. That sort of institutional knowledge can only hope Moore as he continues to settle in to the head job.

Michigan news: Justice Haynes is a perfect fit for Wolverines roster

Michigan addressed several different needs in the transfer portal, but arguably no commitment was bigger than that of former Alabama running back Justice Haynes. With both Donovan Edwards and Kalel Mullings moving on to the NFL and virtually no experienced depth behind them, the Wolverines needed to add someone who could hit the ground running and carry this rushing attack in 2025. Haynes more than fits the bill, so it's no wonder that he ranks highly on 247 Sports' list of the 11 best player fits from the most recent portal cycle.

"A downhill runner with a physical running style, the Georgia native should plug in seamlessly to an offense hell-bent on establishing the line of scrimmage," writes Cooper Petagna.

It's not hard to see the appeal here. Haynes was among the most highly touted running back recruits in the country just a couple of years ago, and he was productive despite never getting a lead role in Alabama's backfield under Nick Saban or Kalen DeBoer. He's got the frame and the skill to break out in a big way this season, and Michigan should give him ample opportunity.

Michigan news: Sherrone Moore ranks No. 19 on list of top 25 coaches in America

Earlier this week, On3's Ari Wasserman released his list of the top 25 head coaches in the country entering the 2025 season. And Moore's placement figures to draw its fair share of controversy: Wasserman has the second-year coach at No. 19, just behind Illinois' Bret Bielema and just ahead of Iowa's Kirk Ferentz.

Granted, Moore only has one year of experience under his belt, and that year resulted in a somewhat underwhelming 7-5 record. But given how many pieces he had to replace from the 2023 national championship team, the inconvenient timing of Harbaugh's departure for the NFL and the improvement the Wolverines showed over the course of the season, this feels like selling him a little short. We'll get a much better idea of what kind of coach Moore is over the next year or two, as he gets to fully remake the program in his image. But would you really rather have, say, Miami's Mario Cristobal than Moore right now?