Is Kyle Whittingham coaching Michigan vs Texas in Citrus Bowl?
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Is new Michigan football coach Kyle Whittingham coaching the Wolverines vs. Texas in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl today?
The short answer is no.
Interim coach Biff Poggi will continue to lead the Wolverines through the bowl game in Orlando on Wednesday, Dec. 31 at 3 p.m. on ABC. Poggi was immediately named the interim coach after Sherrone Moore was fired from the role over an inappropriate relationship with a staffer and helped lead the team through a tumultuous period. Poggi openly campaigned for the job, but Michigan ultimately decided to go with Whittingham, who had 21 years of head coaching experience at Utah.
But just because Whittingham isn’t going to be on the mic and calling plays on Wednesday doesn’t mean he won’t be around.
In fact, the two sides made special arrangements to get him to Orlando for this week. Instead of going right to Ann Arbor for the introductory press conference at Schembechler Hall or another Michigan facility, Whittingham flew right to Orlando after he was hired to meet with his new team and do his opening press conference at a hotel ballroom.
His most notable introduction and meeting was with star quarterback Bryce Underwood. Whittingham said the two met for about 45 minutes and started to get to know each other in the time between bowl prep for the freshman and all the tasks the new coach is managing.
Whittingham was also spotted roaming around at Michigan’s first bowl practice and is expected to be on the sidelines for the game, but not in a coaching role.
Michigan fans will have to wait until the 2026 season opener against Western Michigan on Saturday, Sept. 5, to see Whittingham make his debut, but with the transfer portal set to open up for everyone on Friday, Jan. 2 and many high school recruits trying to make their decisions, there will be plenty of work for Whittingham to do.
Andrew Birkle is an assistant sports editor for the Free Press. Contact him via email at abirkle@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Is Kyle Whittingham coaching Michigan vs Texas in Citrus Bowl?
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