We made it. Michigan football returns tomorrow.
It’s been quite the offseason in these parts. Sherrone Moore was unceremoniously dismissedfollowing the news breaking that he was having an affair with a subordinate. Warde Manuel’s tenure will also be coming to a close soon due to the results of an internal investigation. All the while, the Wolverines brought in a future hall-of-fame coach to run the football programin Kyle Whittingham.
Over the offseason we’ve dug into the nitty-gritty of what the coaching
change means, which spots we think were upgraded the most, and how long we expect Whittingham to remain in Ann Arbor. Today, we turn the analysis over to you.
How excited are you for Kyle Whittingham to take over as head coach of the Michigan football program? Will he return the Wolverines to the CFP and championship contention? Will he still be in Ann Arbor 5 years from now? Will he be able to recruit at an elite level after having limited resources in Utah for his entire career?
Over the course of his career, Kyle Whittingham is 177-88 as a head coach (.668 winning percentage). That’s incredibly impressive in and of itself. Throw in the fact that he did that all at a program like Utah, which is not exactly a premiere destination for recruiting, and it gets even more impressive.
He has built his career on being a hard-nosed, running-oriented coach who demands toughness and grit out of his players. That doesn’t sound all that different than the culture of the Michigan football program.
However, there are some pretty stark differences as well. Whittingham has always preferred dual-threat quarterbacks, as he views the quarterback running threat to be an essential part of his offense. He also loves positional versatility which has not been a staple at Michigan. He also loves recruiting players from the West Coast. The Wolverines historically have done that well occasionally, but not frequently.
There’s no denying that Whittingham should be a much better head coach than Sherrone Moore was. Whittingham is an expert in clock-management and gameplanning. He also should be able to get his team to focus much more easily than Moore did. Will that translate to early success? Time will tell.
How excited are you for the Whittingham era to kick off? Beyond the normal excitement of the return of football season, what specifically are you excited to see Michigan do under Kyle Whittingham? Do you think it will work out? Will Whittingham be able to win a championship before he retires?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
