ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan is finalizing a deal to hire running backs coach Tony Alford from rival Ohio State, a person with direct knowledge of the move told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because contract details and university approval were still being worked out.
Alford would replace Mike Hart, the former Wolverines star who had been running backs coach under coach Jim Harbaugh for three seasons.
Michigan coach Sherrone Moore pulled off a bold move in building his first staff after Harbaugh’s return to the NFL, adding one of Ryan Day’s top assistants with the Buckeyes.
Day hired Alford away from Notre Dame in 2015 as running backs and assistant head coach, promoting him to run game coordinator a little more than a year ago.
Harbaugh led the Wolverines to their first national title since 1997, then left to lead the Los Angeles Chargers two months ago. He encouraged athletic director Warde Manuel to hire Moore, who was Harbaugh's offensive coordinator.
___
AP College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo contributed to this report.
___
Get alerts on the latest AP Top 25 poll throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Watch 13 ON YOUR SIDE for free on Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV and on your phone.