What Tony Alford said about leaving Ohio State football for rival Michigan: 'It was time'
Tony Alford, speaking to reporters for the first time since switching sides in one of college football’s fiercest rivalries, suggested a need for a change of scenery led to his departure from Ohio State.
He spent nine seasons as the Buckeyes’ running backs coach before archrival Michigan hired him for the same role last month.
“I thought it was time,” Alford said. “It might have been time for both parties, I don’t know. But I thought it was time, and it was an opportunity.”
When Sherrone Moore was promoted to replace Jim Harbaugh at the helm of the Wolverines earlier this offseason, he did not retain Mike Hart, the program’s all-time leading rusher who had coached the running backs for the past three seasons.
The decision resulted in a vacancy that led to the hiring of Alford, who also received a pay raise and a three-year contract in his move to Michigan.
In his news conference on Wednesday in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the 55-year-old assistant declined to delve into the reasons behind him leaving Ohio State.
“Everyone’s asking why and the intimate details of it,” Alford said. “The people that need to know, they know. But at the end of the day, you make moves professionally that you feel are in your best interest. Whatever those reasons are, that’s what I did.”
More: Join the Ohio State Sports Insider text group with Bill Rabinowitz, Joey Kaufman Adam Jardy
More: Looking back at Tony Alford's tenure as Ohio State football's running backs coach
Alford took a diplomatic posture as he spoke about both longtime rivals.
He said Michigan presented him with an opportunity for “professional growth and things of that nature” and added that he and Moore have known each other for “quite a while.”
“I have so much respect for Sherrone,” Alford said.
He said as much about Ohio State. He first joined the Buckeyes in 2015 as a part of Urban Meyer's staff and was later retained by Ryan Day.
“I’ve got so much respect for Ohio State and the Ohio State community and what they presented to me and my family through the years,” Alford said. “It was not an easy decision.
“Any time you’re somewhere for as long as I was, there’s some roots that have been set in, not just professionally, but personally as well, so that was difficult. But at the end of the day, I thought this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”
The Buckeyes have since hired Carlos Locklyn, the running backs coach at Oregon the last two seasons, to replace Alford.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch and can be reached at jkaufman@dispatch.com.
Get more Ohio State football news by listening to our podcasts
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Tony Alford on leaving Ohio State football for rival Michigan
