New Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham had his introductory press conference on Sunday morning, and he made some strong impressions with fans and the media. The 66-year-old has a lot on his to-do list
in his first week, especially given the time of the hire and the urgency of the transfer portal opening in five days.
With all the necessary steps Whittingham must take to ensure a competitive team in 2026, he made it apparent the No. 1 priority this week is retaining Michigan’s current roster and incoming freshman class.
Players have two weeks beginning on Jan. 2 to enter the portal if they intend to play for another program next season. Additionally, Michigan has the 11th-ranked high school recruiting class, with guys like defensive end Carter Meadows, running back Savion Hiter and others being major priorities to keep in the class.
The Wolverines have already lost three recruits since the firing of Sherrone Moore, and only a few current players have announced their intentions to enter the portal. There is still time for Whittingham to keep the guys, but as he is fully aware, he will need to act quickly.
“Immediate priorities — roster retention,” Whittingham said. “You (have to) meet with these young men. In this day and age in college football, the transfer portal is opening up in about five days. That is absolutely job one, is to make sure that I get in front of these young men and tell them what I’m all about, find out what they’re all about. And that would go for the incoming recruits as well. Gotta get on the phone, they’re not here physically yet, but get on the phone with the class that we just signed.
“It’s all about players, college football is all about players and if you have good players, you’ve got a chance. So retention of players in the program and retention of the players we just signed. That’s the absolute priority.”
Whittingham already had a conversation with Michigan’s top priority, Bryce Underwood. He mentioned on Sunday they had a 45-minute discussion, with Whittingham doing most of the listening. They talked about Underwood’s background, his needs and where he hopes to see the program going forward.
This is a great start, and if Whittingham can get Underwood to stick with the program, it would be a lot easier to retain others on Michigan’s roster.
The Wolverines will take on Texas in the Citrus Bowl on Wednesday. Whittingham has no plans of doing any coaching this week, but he is in Orlando to build relationships with the current roster and do all he can to keep his team together before the portal opens up.
It was a strong opening press conference for the new head coach, and if he can turn his intended actions into reality, Michigan could be in a much better position than many expected it to be at the start of the 2026 season.
