In the latter part of Kyle Whittingham’s 21-year run at Utah, his name practically disappeared from the coaching rumors that seem to be part and parcel of having success at a non-traditional program.
It wasn’t that bigger schools were any less interested. If anything, Whittingham’s reputation had only grown over time as he shepherded Utah from Mountain West domination to the Pac-12 championships to a 10-2 redemption this year after an exceedingly rare losing season in 2024.
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But Utah was home. And at age 66, it seemed like the time for one more move was in the rear-view mirror. When Whittingham announced on Dec. 12 that he was stepping down, the immediate reaction and the tributes from Utah, where he had spent 32 years in total, made it look like a retirement.
It was not.
Whittingham, it turns out, will get his shot at a blue blood after all. Michigan officials have signed Whittingham to a five-year deal. Whittingham is expected to join the team in Orlando for its Dec. 31 Citrus Bowl game against the Texas Longhorns.
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With Michigan in the throes of scandal, internal investigation and possible administrative upheaval, it is turning to the most accomplished coach it could have hired even under the best of circumstances.
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You know how schools often hire the opposite of the coach they just fired?
In replacing the undisciplined, inexperienced, offensive-minded Sherrone Moore with a tough-nosed, Medicare-eligible, defensive-minded ball coach who hasn’t missed a workout in decades, Michigan is flipping the narrative around its program overnight.
Kyle Whittingham is reportedly the target of Michigan’s head coaching search. He went 177-88 in 21 seasons at Utah. (Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Nobody will question Whittingham’s seriousness. Nobody will question his competence in managing the program. Nobody will have to wonder whether he’s doing things in his off time that will embarrass the school.
After the Moore debacle, the full culture reset Whittingham will provide is just what Michigan needs. And given how limited the options were with so many coaches having already taken other jobs or signing contract extensions, Michigan is making a responsible decision here rather than taking a shot in the dark.
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But will he win?
That’s a more interesting question.
Michigan fans should not be troubled by Whittingham’s age. Even if he would be a so-called bridge hire with more yesterdays than tomorrows in his coaching career, there’s no point for any program these days to look beyond a five-year window. This is the transfer portal era for players and coaches. The kind of two-decade run Whittingham just had at Utah isn’t realistic anywhere nowadays.
Michigan fans also don’t have to question his motivation. It’s clear now that Whittingham wanted to keep going but felt a nudge toward the door by a Utah administration that was concerned defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley, who had been named head coach-in-waiting on July 1, 2024, would get tired of waiting his turn.
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“I did not want to be that guy who overstayed his welcome with people saying, ‘Hey, when’s this guy gonna leave?’” Whittingham told the Salt Lake Tribune last week. “That was not my intention — ever. I hope I didn’t do that. I’m sure with some people I did do that. To me, the timing was right.”
It’s understandable if Michigan fans are wary of the high-profile older guy making one last move. It hasn’t worked out with either Mack Brown or Bill Belichick at North Carolina, didn’t work for LSU with Brian Kelly and didn’t work for UCF recently with Gus Malzahn.
But it would be a shock if Whittingham, of all people, treats this opportunity like a highly paid semi-retirement gig. After being at the same school since 1994, having this unexpected opportunity at the end of his career to coach at a place with almost unlimited resources would surely invigorate him.
And it’s not like Whittingham was tailing off in the first place. Utah made back-to-back Rose Bowls in 2021 and 2022. Yes, the combined 13-12 record over the subsequent two years was ugly, but it was mostly the product of bad injury luck at the quarterback position. Utah bouncing back with a 10-2 record this year showed definitively that Whittingham could still get it done in the transfer portal/NIL era.
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His style of football should work in the Big Ten. Every one of the elite teams in that league, including Indiana, Oregon and Ohio State, are built from the line of scrimmage out. That’s what Whittingham did at Utah, he’ll just have access to a lot more talent.
The biggest question for Whittingham at any job other than Utah, of course, is how his recruiting will translate. It’s especially pertinent for someone whose rosters have relied on overlooked players from the Mountain and Pacific time zones now having to battle for four- and five-star talent in the Midwest and all across the country because that’s what the Michigan job demands.
But Michigan’s NIL infrastructure is among the best in college sports, showing its force in landing top-rated freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood last year. Assuming Whittingham is adept at forming the right relationships among Michigan’s donor class, the recruiting component should mostly take care of itself.
It’s the culture piece, though, where Whittingham should be able to get Michigan on track. As much success as Jim Harbaugh had in the later part of his career, the program was just too messy. Connor Stalions. Matt Weiss. Sherrone Moore. Too many infamous names were associated with that regime. A lot of time and money was wasted trying to deal with horrible behavior.
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Michigan needed a clean break. It also needed a coach with enough gravitas to keep the ship afloat amid more turbulent waters to come. Though athletic director Warde Manuel has led the coaching search, the school has hired a white-shoe law firm to conduct an independent review of the athletic department. Given the multiple scandals that have taken place on his watch, it wouldn’t be shocking if he’s swept out, too.
Michigan fans should be thrilled with Whittingham becoming the face of that athletic department alongside men’s basketball head coach Dusty May. Sometimes you just need an adult in the room, and by adding Whittingham the Wolverines would have two.
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Nobody really knows how a hire is going to turn out until you see the product on the field. Whittingham, just like he did at Utah more than two decades ago, will have to prove that his style works at the highest level in the sport.
But Michigan is also a place where an unfocused, replacement-level coach went 9-3 this season before running his career off the rails. It’s a great job with a high floor, and anyone with a baseline level of competence should be able to contend for College Football Playoff berths.
Fans will have questions about Whittingham’s age, his offense and his geographic fit. That’s all fair. But they should remember there were plenty of ways for a mid-to-late December coaching search to be a disaster with a weakened athletic director and no permanent school president.
Instead, Michigan is taking the first step toward healing.
