Out of all first-year coaches at Michigan this year, linebackers coach Alex Whittingham is probably in the most disadvantageous. He’s inheriting a position group with no returning starters and very little production overall from last season. Some players have reportedly had good fall camps but it remains to be seen how they perform on Saturdays.
Son of head coach Kyle Whittingham, Alex has his work cut out for him in his first season coaching collegiate football. And if he’s able to produce star talent
out of what he has, it’ll be a great indication for the rest of his coaching career.
Here is a breakdown of his career heading into his first season in Ann Arbor:
Resume
Alex was a walk-on at Utah and played for his father. He was the team captain at Brighton High School in Utah where he primarily played linebacker. His role on defense was minimal at Utah, but after redshirting his true freshman season in 2013, he played in six games in 2014 and all 13 games the final three seasons.
A special teams contributor for the Utes, Alex immediately joined the Kansas City Chiefs staff to become a defensive assistant in the outside linebackers room. He was with the Chiefs for eight seasons before deciding to join his father at Michigan.
The most impressive accomplishment of Alex’s young career is the fact he’s won three Super Bowls — LIV (2020), LVII (2022) and LVIII (2023) — and appeared in five during his eight seasons with the Chiefs.
Alex was a defensive assistant in 2018 and 2024, outside linebackers in 2018 and the secondary in 2024. He served as defensive quality control for the defensive line in 2019, and linebackers from 2020-23. In his final season, he was the assistant defensive line coach, so Michigan is his first opportunity to lead a position group.
Why Michigan hired him
There are pros and cons to hiring Alex. The cons are clearly the fact he hasn’t held any position group coaching position in his career. The major pros, though, are he has experience with a successful franchise, the relationship he has with Kyle as a coach at Utah and father supporting him at Chiefs games, and the caliber of players he’s had the opportunity to work with.
It may seem like an easy hire, but Alex’s experience with the Chiefs allowed him to compete for this coaching position where he’s in a good place to succeed.
Recruiting, development and coaching philosophy
The recruiting and development portion is what really remains to be seen here. With proven NFL talent, Alex had the opportunity to learn from and work with some of the league’s best players.
With the Chiefs, Alex worked with defensive linemen Frank Clark and Chris Jones. Clark played four seasons at Michigan and was a three-time Pro Bowler with the Chiefs. Alex also worked with linebackers Nick Bolton, Dee Ford, Willie Gay, Justin Houston and Drue Tranquill. And in his lone season in the secondary, he worked with cornerback Trent McDuffie, who earned second-team All-Pro honors in 2024, Alex’s lone season working with the secondary.
So far as a recruiter, Alex has landed verbal commitments from four-star Frederrick Ford and three-star Brayden Watson in the class of 2027. This season will be a huge chance for Alex to prove what type of coach he will be, given he is inheriting a group with the most question marks and not a single returning starter.
Success checklist
- Put Troy Bowles in All-Big Ten conversations: Bowles has not had a ton of experience, but he saw his role increase as the season progressed. Bowles has been talked about all offseason and could prove to be a big contributor defensively this season.
- Build linebackers that can play special teams: One of the most underrated development tactics is getting a plethora of reps on special teams. Bowles may be a beneficiary of this approach, as he had a bunch of special teams experience and became a leader in that room. If Alex can use his previous linebacker-turned-special-team-contributor path to inspire development in his room, it could go a long way for the future.
- Develop Chase Taylor: Taylor ended up playing a decent amount in his true freshman season at linebacker. He started on special teams but then began seeing more defensive snaps down the stretch. It could be a breakout season for Taylor, and Alex has the chance to tap into his potential.
