As far as Michigan’s head coaching search goes, there are a lot of different things at play for Wolverine administrators. But for interim Michigan head coach Biff Poggi, he now has to go to what’s likely option No. 3 at offensive play-caller ahead of the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.
Former head coach Sherrone Moore was the Wolverines’ offensive play-caller, but he’s been fired for cause. Chip Lindsey was the play-caller for Michigan’s 2025 games without Moore, but he’s now heading to Missouri to work for Eli Drinkwitz. So now, Poggi has to go to the next offensive coach for the Citrus Bowl. According to On3’s Pete Nakos, that’s co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Steve Casula.
Casula does have some experience calling plays at the FBS level. In 2022 and 2023, Casula was the offensive coordinator at UMass on Don Brown‘s staff. From his Michigan bio…
At UMass, Casula coached seven Minutemen to All-Independent honors including three first-team performers. In 2023, the offense had its best season since 2018 and improved 40-plus spots in the national rankings across nine different categories. Casula oversaw the production of All-Independent Wide Receiver of the Year Anthony Simpson and running back Kay’Ron Adams, who was top-30 in the FBS in both yards (1,157) and touchdowns (12) on 236 carries with 20 receptions for 118 yards.
Casula joined the Wolverines’ staff as an offensive analyst in 2019 and was elevated to the role of senior analyst for the 2020 and 2021 seasons. His tenure culminated in Michigan winning the 2021 Big Ten Championship and earning its first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff thanks in part to an offense that ranked top-25 in total offense, rushing, red zone, and scoring with 35.8 points per game.
Quite familiar with the state of Michigan football, Casula coached at Ferris State (2017-18), Davenport College (2014-16) and Western Michigan (2010-11) before his time in Ann Arbor. He was the Bulldogs’ offensive coordinator in both of his two seasons in Big Rapids and coached the tight ends and running backs in 2018. Ferris State qualified for the Division II Playoff in both seasons with Casula on staff (2017-18), finishing with an 11-2 record in 2017 and a 15-1 mark in 2018 as national runners-up. He coached quarterback Jayru Campbell to the 2018 Harlon Hill Trophy as the Division II College Football Player of the Year.
While that’s an interesting resume, it lacks play-calling experience at the Power Four level.
Of course, that makes the Citrus Bowl a battle of interim play-callers, at least when the Wolverines have the ball. Steve Sarkisian fired Pete Kwiatkowski on Thursday and replaced him with Will Muschamp. On Friday, Sarkisian said Muschamp will “observe” for the bowl but the defense will be called by co-defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen.
With 10 days until the Citrus Bowl, the coaching carousel continues to spin. The latest jump from Ann Arbor, this time for another program, means the Wolverines and the Longhorns will have second (or third) choices calling the shots when U-M is on offense.