Biff Poggi tells signees and parents Michigan hopes to hire a coach by end of month, AP source says

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 its 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, a three-star 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.

McWhorter made his decision Monday, committing to Auburn.

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.

“Those families are waiting with bated breath — as many are who are invested in Michigan football — to see who the next coach is going to be.”

Current players, including starting quarterback Bryce Underwood, will have a chance to enter the transfer portal between Jan. 2-16 if they don't like the direction of the program or how they fit with the new coach.

“It's a very unique time,” Trieu said. “You have a coaching staff, not knowing if they'll be back, preparing for a game while trying to hold onto signees and current players — and everybody is impatient.”

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Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore appears via video in court on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025 in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/ Ryan Sun)

FILE - Michigan acting head coach Biff Poggi reacts after his team made a field goal against Nebraska during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Lincoln, Neb. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz, File)

FILE - Michigan associate head coach Biff Poggi, left, talks with running backs coach Tony Alford talk during an NCAA college football spring game in Ann Arbor, Mich., Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

FILE - Michigan acting head coach Biff Poggi watches as his team plays against Nebraska during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Lincoln, Neb. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz, File)

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and 34 other countries formally approved plans Tuesday to create a compensation body to pay for damages to Ukraine caused by the Russian invasion, but questions remain about where the money will come from.

Zelenskyy told leaders gathered in the Dutch city of The Hague that he hopes for strong international support so "any damage caused by the war can be compensated.”

The Council of Europe, the continent’s preeminent human rights organization, has facilitated the International Claims Commission, which will allow Ukrainians to seek compensation for “damage, loss or injury” caused by Russia since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

The Council of Europe is adamant that Russia must foot the bill, but there is no clear pathway for forcing Moscow to pay. One proposal is to use some of the tens of billions of dollars in frozen Russian assets held in Europe.

“The aggressor must pay,” Zelenskyy told the Dutch parliament earlier Tuesday.

On Monday, he attended peace talks in Berlin with U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Zelenskyy voiced readiness to drop his country’s bid to join NATO in exchange for Western security guarantees, but rejected the U.S. push for ceding territory to Russia.

“These security guarantees are an opportunity to prevent another wave of Russian aggression,” he told journalists. “And this is already a compromise on our part.”

Thirty-five countries backed the International Claims Commission, but they now must ratify the treaty, a process which usually requires legislature approval. That level of support is unprecedented for the start of a Council of Europe treaty.

The commission will assess claims made to the already operational register of damages, which was launched during a Council of Europe summit in 2023. Some 80,000 claims have already been filed with the register, which is based in The Hague.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told a press conference the bloc would give one million euros ($1.1 million) to finance the commission's operation. An estimated 3.5 million euros ($4.1 million) are needed overall.

Many of the same countries have also backed a new international court, also under the umbrella of the Council of Europe, to prosecute senior Russian officials for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, attends a parliament session in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (Robin van Lonkhuijsen/Pool Photo via AP)

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, right, poses with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, right, welcomes Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and Steve Witkoff, special envoy of the United States, meet at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, Pool)