"Very Close": Kyle Whittingham Confirms He Nearly Had Different Career Plans Before Becoming Michigan HC

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Just about the time his first child was born, Michigan Wolverines head coach Kyle Whittingham began his college football career. That meant he largely had to balance family time with the grueling demands of being a coach. Eventually, after his role at Utah, Whittingham was very close to eventually giving his full time to an activity he barely had time for, but then the Wolverines stepped in.

“Very close,” Whittingham discussed how close he was to retirement during an appearance on the Big Ten Football Network. “And I’d already come to terms with the fact that if I was done, I will be okay with that. I’ve got 11 grandkids and two on the way. That was something that was a distinct possibility when the call came from Michigan that changed everything.”

In the same year he had his first son, Tyler, Whittingham began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at BYU. Then, he had other stints in other programs: Eastern Utah as the defensive coordinator and Idaho State as the linebackers coach before landing at Utah in 1994 as the defensive linemen coach. He grew through the ranks at Utah and became the head coach in 2005. By the time he left the program, college football had taken more than 40 years of his life.

But then, it has been common knowledge in college football that Whittingham did more with less at Utah. He had eight double-digit-win seasons and three conference championships despite limited resources. Whittingham was quite emotional during his last press conference at Utah. At the time, the general consensus was that he was retiring.

Meanwhile, Sherrone Moore was coaching Michigan. The Wolverines were not even in the picture. And then things escalated rather quickly. Over a week after the regular season ended, Moore was fired by Michigan for cause. In a bid to bring stability to the program, Michigan needed a veteran presence. Whittingham’s family members knew what the opportunity meant.

“Well, everyone was on board,” Whittingham added. “There wasn’t anybody in the camp that was saying, ‘Hey, no, let’s just ride off into the sunset.’ Particularly my wife, she saw this as a great opportunity. I had followed Michigan since I was an eight-year-old kid down in California. I used to watch the Michigan-Ohio State game every year. And so, I already had an affinity for the university. I can confidently say there was nobody in my close circle that had any other thoughts, but ‘hey, let’s go.'”

With Michigan, Whittingham finally joins a program that has it all. He highlighted the tradition, academics, and resources as among the main attractions for him.

Kyle Whittingham could have stayed for another year at Utah

While Whittingham left his role at Utah at the end of the 2025 season, that wasn’t his original plan. In fact, he wanted to stay for another year at the Utes. The program had set a deadline of December 5, and Whittingham was given two options. Retire or stay for the last two years of his contract.

Three days before the deadline, Whittingham’s agent informed the program that the head coach isn’t considering retirement. But that wasn’t all. Coach Whittingham wanted a salary jump and an NIL budget of $20 million. In response, the Utes gave him a one-year deal on a salary that was $1 million less than what Whittingham wanted.

Furthermore, the program wanted the head coach-in-waiting, Morgan Scalley, to take over recruiting and staffing during Whittingham’s last season at the Utes. Ultimately, no agreement could be reached. Instead of another year, Whittingham got a transition bonus to leave after the 2025 season.

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