Kyle Whittingham at Michigan: Not a Michigan man anymore
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Kyle Whittingham at Michigan: Not a Michigan man anymore originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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After adding Dusty May for the men’s basketball team, the Michigan Wolverines athletics Department made another smart hire. This time in football when they snagged Kyle Whittingham to replace the fired Sherrone Moore.
Not a Michigan man, Whittingham is the perfect person to fill this position after the turmoil, which has been the past half decade within Michigan Football.
Yes, there was a national championship. But this was surrounded by John Harbaugh nearly being fired and instead choosing to take a pay cut and eventually leaving for another NFL job after years of flirting with any job open. This was followed by the hiring of Moore and the strange two seasons which transpired under his watch. While record wise, both seasons were solid. It was not enough for the Michigan establishment and after things came out about his off field actions, he was rightfully fired.
The situation in which Whittingham finds himself comes after a successful two-decade run with Utah. A tenure that saw the Utah program become the most successful example of a group of five programs moving to a power five league with their move to the Pac-12. After being successful in the Pac-12, Whittingham then followed as Utah moved to the Big 12 following the collapse of the longtime west coast conference.
Whittingham was unceremoniously asked to resign at Utah to make room for coach-in-waiting Morgan Scalley. This is why having this arrangement is never a good thing. Sure, a succession plan is wonderful. But having the person on staff and getting anxious just makes things awkward for all involved. It also happened with Jimbo Fisher and Bobby Bowden down at FSU.
Whittingham made no secret about what he is planning to do with Michigan. At his opening press conference, he told reporters that the Wolverines would be a power run team and play hard defense. This was music to the ears of Michigan fans. This is what Michigan has been known for, and it is also the type of football Whittingham played for his entire successful tenure with the Utes.
Success with Michigan will be different than with a lot of the jobs in this series. While Jon Sumrall at Florida, Lane Kiffin with LSU and Will Stein at Kentucky are all looking for long and successful tenures at their school, Whittingham is 66 years old.
Yes, he works out every day and is fit. But this hire is looked at as a short term bridge before bringing in the next long term coach in three or four years. Before doing so, the Wolverines and their fans want Whittingham to keep them at the top of the Big Ten, make the playoffs and not let the program slip any further than they feel it did under Moore.
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Most importantly, the fans want to make sure they do not go back to being dominated by the team down south. They had a five game winning streak against Ohio State before 2025, and they want to make sure to get back to winning in 2026.
Whittingham is the most successful coach who was hired in this cycle. He has tenure, program building and a low-key coaching style which will keep Michigan out of the spotlight while being successful. After the past year, this is exactly what Michigan expects and needs to settle things down. That will be a success for Michigan.
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