Kyle Whittingham hiring BYU’s Jay Hill as Michigan Football’s DC

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Kyle Whittingham hiring BYU’s Jay Hill as Michigan Football’s DC

It’s been a busy day for the Michigan Wolverines. Not long after the reported hirings of offensive coordinator Jason Beck, wide receivers coach Micah Simon, tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham and quarterbacks coach Koy Detmer Jr., Kyle Whittingham has landed Jay Hill to take over as the defensive coordinator.

A 50-year-old Utah native, Hill has been the defensive coordinator, associate head coach and safeties coach at BYU since 2022. He coordinated a unit that held opponents to just 19.0 points per game in 2024 and 19.6 points per game in 2025, No. 21 and No. 18 in FBS, respectively, those years. The year prior to Hill’s arrival in Provo, the Cougars allowed 29.5 points per game (97th in FBS).

Hill was the head coach at Weber State for nine seasons before his time at BYU, compiling a 68-39 record and winning the Big Sky Conference four times. He has a long history with Whittingham as well, serving as an assistant coach under him from 2005-13 and working with him on Utah’s staffs from 2001-04.

Additionally, BYU led the country in interceptions in 2024 (22), and had 30 sacks in 2025, the program’s highest sack total since 2016. Strong defensive play has been a hallmark of Whittingham’s Utah teams, as well as Michigan’s teams over the last decade, and he is clearly prioritizing that side of the ball with Hill coming over to serve as his defensive coordinator.

On Saturday, Hill helped lead BYU to one last strong performance defensively in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. After the Cougars allowed 21 points in the first half to Georgia Tech, they pitched a shutout in the second half to help secure a 25-21 victory.

Hill replaces Wink Martindale, who was Michigan’s defensive coordinator the last two seasons under Sherrone Moore, marking the official end to the Ravens-style systems we’d seen the last five seasons with Mike Macdonald, Jesse Minter and Martindale. Martindale will now likely look back to the NFL for his next coaching opportunity.

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