With Monday’s College Football Playoff championship game in the rearview mirror and Indiana having completed the most unlikely of turnarounds, the eyes of the college football world turn to next season. Hope springs eternal, it’s been said, and that’s certainly true for college football fans, who begin each new year with a blank slate and dreams of better days. Nowhere is that truer than in Ann Arbor, where Michigan enters 2026 with newfound hope buoyed by the promise of a new coaching staff.
After
Sherrone Moore’s dismissal and subsequent arrest in mid-December, Michigan responded by hiring one of the most respected figures in college football: Former Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham. “An incredible fit,” Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt said of the hire. “I think he (Whittingham) is a wonderful coach and he’s got the highest integrity.” In that sense, Whittingham was the ideal hire for a Michigan program that’s made as much news off the field as it has on the field in recent years. Having an adult in the room, if you will, will be a welcome change in Ann Arbor.
But Whittingham is more than just a stabilizing presence. He’s also one of the most successful college football coaches over the past two decades. Whittingham led a Utah program that navigated from the Mountain West to the Pac-12 to the Big 12, winning 67% of his games and capturing back-to-back Pac-12 championships in 2021-22 along the way. Whittingham was named national coach of the year in 2008 and was twice named Pac-12 coach of the year.
Whittingham’s track record of success is unquestioned and there is little doubt that Michigan will look much different under him than it looked under Moore. But what, exactly, will Michigan look like? What kind of team will Michigan be under Whittingham? “A team that will fall right in line with what Michigan is used to,” Whittingham told reporters at his introductory press conference.
“Physicality will be our calling card,” Whittingham continued. “At Utah we were the most physical team in whatever league we were in and that’s not going to be any different here.”
“Win the line of scrimmage, be physical up front, you’ve always got a chance. That will be our trademark, the identity of this football team: Physicality, toughness and grit.”
If that sounds familiar, it should. Strong play in the trenches and a dominant rushing attack propelled Michigan to three consecutive Big Ten championships and a national championship in 2023.
But while you can expect Michigan to continue to put a priority on running the ball under Whittingham, don’t expect the same staid offense that Michigan has had the past couple of years, when running the ball was essentially all Michigan could – or in some cases even attempted – to do.
Whittingham is bringing offensive coordinator Jason Beck with him to Ann Arbor, and led by Whittingham and Beck, Michigan should have a more balanced and dynamic offense. Last season Utah ranked fourth in the nation in both total yards and points scored. And while the Utes finished the season with the number two rushing offense in the country, they still gained 45% of their total yards through the air.
Taking advantage of a quarterback’s legs is also something that’s typically been part of Whittingham’s offenses at Utah – something that plays into the strength of Michigan’s sophomore-to-be quarterback Bryce Underwood.
“I believe our offense fits him (Underwood) to a tee,” Whittingham said.
Bringing in a proven offensive coordinator like Beck is critical for a team that’s struggled offensively as much as Michigan has over the past two seasons. Beck, however, is far from the only assistant Whittingham is bringing with him from the Beehive State.
Whittingham stressed the importance of familiarity in building his coaching staff. “You’ve got to bring in guys that you’re familiar with and guys you’ve worked with,” Whittingham said. “The key is to get guys that you trust. Guys that you’re familiar with, that do things your way. That know what my expectations are.”
Another coach with whom Whittingham is familiar is Michigan’s new defensive coordinator Jay Hill. Hill was part of Whittingham’s defensive staff at Utah for more than a decade before leaving to become BYU’s defensive coordinator in 2023. At BYU, Hill inherited the nation’s 98th ranked scoring defense (one that surrendered nearly 30 points per game) and in short order turned that unit into one that ranked in the top 20 in scoring defense his final two years in Provo.
Headed by coordinators Beck and Hill, Michigan instantly has one of the better coaching staffs in the Big Ten. And while all of Michigan’s new assistants come to Ann Arbor with proven track records, one in particular will be a most welcome addition: Quarterbacks coach Koy Detmer.
“From what I understand,” Whittingham somewhat astonishingly said on Urban Meyer’s The Triple Option podcast earlier this month, “No dedicated quarterback coach was working with him (Underwood) daily, which has to happen. Jason Beck and Koy Detmer are outstanding quarterback developers and coaches, and we’re already going down that path (working with Underwood on his fundamentals and technique).”
Hearing that has to be music to the ears of not just Michigan fans – but Underwood himself, who should finally receive the kind of position-specific coaching he didn’t receive during his freshman season.
When introduced as Michigan’s head coach, Whittingham said that “roster retention is absolutely job one,” and over the past few weeks, he and his staff have proven that sentiment to be more than just words. In an age in which there are more than 4,000 players reportedly in the transfer portal, Michigan was able to retain the majority of its impact players – including budding stars like Underwood, receiver Andrew Marsh, running backs Jordan Marshall and incoming freshman Savion Hiter and the lion’s share of a young offensive line. Michigan hasn’t added a lot from the portal (although it did add some skill position players on offense that should further help Underwood’s development), but it did a stellar job retaining its current roster.
Time will tell how well Whittingham will fare at Michigan. Michigan is playing catch-up, with Indiana, Ohio State and Oregon emerging as CFP regulars in college football’s new world order. But by bringing in one of the more respected and successful coaches in all of college football, the future is bright at Michigan. Much brighter, it goes without saying, than it was a month ago.
And that alone is reason for Michigan fans to look forward to next season.
