Following the departure of Michigan running backs coach Mike Hart last week, Sherrone Moore has acted quickly to tab his replacement. As first reported by Football Scoop and confirmed by various other media outlets, Tony Alford is set to become Michigan’s new running backs coach.
Alford comes to Ann Arbor directly from Columbus, as he was Ohio State’s second-longest tenured coach behind only defensive line coach Larry Johnson. Alford has coached at Ohio State since 2015, serving under both Urban Meyer and Ryan Day. While with the Buckeyes, he coached several prolific running backs such as Ezekiel Elliott, J.K. Dobbins and, most recently, TreVeyon Henderson.
Prior to coaching at Ohio State, Alford was at Notre Dame in various roles such as running backs coach, wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator. He also had stints as an assistant coach at Iowa State, Washington and Louisville.
A native of Kent, Ohio, Alford attended Colorado State and played running back from 1987-1990. He played briefly on NFL practice squads before transitioning to coaching in 1993.
Alford is known as an ace recruiter and should dramatically help Michigan’s recruiting efforts. His addition will also certainly add intrigue to the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry, as very few coaches have switched sides — former Michigan linebackers coach Al Washington and defensive line coach Greg Mattison are the most recent examples.
