Ohio State football running backs coach Tony Alford leaves for Michigan

Tony Alford, the veteran Ohio State running backs coach, has left for the same role at Michigan.

The Buckeyes’ archrival announced the addition of Alford to its staff on Wednesday. He will also have the title of run game coordinator.

Sherrone Moore, who was promoted to lead the Wolverines in January after Jim Harbaugh left for a head coaching job in the NFL with the Los Angeles Chargers, did not retain Mike Hart, the school’s all-time leading rusher who had coached their running backs since 2021, resulting in the staff vacancy.

The formal announcement came after Alford had informed Ohio State of his departure earlier in the day and updated his bio on his social media accounts by the afternoon.

The 55-year-old Alford, a native of Akron who was first hired by former coach Urban Meyer in 2015, was the Buckeyes’ second-longest-tenured assistant following defensive line coach Larry Johnson.

In addition to serving as running backs coach, Alford held additional titles over his tenure, including assistant head coach for offense and run game coordinator.

Before coming to Columbus, he spent six seasons as an assistant at Notre Dame, most of them under former Irish coach Brian Kelly, and turned down an offer to reunite with Kelly after he was hired at LSU in 2021.

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Alford made $772,500 as part of his base salary last season and was eligible for $131,325 in bonuses from Ohio State’s berth in the Cotton Bowl.

According to USA TODAY Sports' annual survey of assistant coaches compensation, Alford was the highest-paid running backs coach in the Big Ten in 2023. (The database did not include Northwestern and Penn State, which are exempt from open records laws in their states.)

It was unclear if he was due for a raise with the Buckeyes this year. His contract, which was extended two years ago, expired at the end of January, and the school has not released updated employment agreements for its assistants.

Buckeyes coach Ryan Day had finalized his on-field staff last month with the promotion of graduate assistant and former All-American James Laurinaitis to linebackers coach.

The departure of Alford comes at a delicate time for Ohio State, which opened spring practice last week. With the university on spring break, the team is off this week before returning on Tuesday.

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There is experience at the top of the depth chart following the return of TreVeyon Henderson and addition of Mississippi transfer Quinshon Judkins, but the Buckeyes brought in two running backs – James Peoples and Sam Williams-Dixon – who were among the 15 freshmen to enroll a semester early and are transitioning with a new offensive coordinator in Chip Kelly, the former coach at UCLA.

Twelve spring practices remain before the spring game is to be held on April 13.

The biggest surprise with the move might be that Alford left for Michigan, the biggest nemesis for the Buckeyes.

Though switching sides in the rivalry is uncommon, it is not unprecedented. When Day put together his inaugural staff in 2019, he poached assistants Greg Mattison and Al Washington from the Wolverines.

Mattison, who would be the Buckeyes’ defensive co-coordinator for two years before his retirement, had spent 13 seasons as an assistant at Michigan between separate stints in the 1990s and 2010s.

Tensions in the rivalry have only grown more heated in recent years, though. Amid a sign stealing scandal that unfolded last fall, the Wolverines defeated Ohio State in The Game for a third straight season en route to winning a national championship.

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch and can be reached at jkaufman@dispatch.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State running backs coach Tony Alford leaves for Michigan