CHICAGO -- For decades, Michigan football was synonymous with doing things the right way, having never been subject to any NCAA investigations or penalties. There was little in the way of coaches doing the wrong thing, but the changeover from Gary Moeller to Lloyd Carr showed that the Wolverines weren't fully impervious to that. But the past four years have seen black eye after black eye -- some deserved, some debatably so.
From 'burgergate' to 'signgate' to Sherrone Moore's firing, it seems that cameras and the NCAA have been set up outside of Schembechler Hall for some time now. Thus, after Moore's dismissal for having an inappropriate relationship with his assistant, Paige Shiver, the program hired Kyle Whittingham from Utah, who's known for running
a tight, clean ship.
And Whittingham said in his Big Ten media days press conference that the team is ready to put the past in the past and go forth with a clean record.
"They're hungry and ready to get back into a season and get into some football again," Whittingham said. "They've been through a lot the last four or five years, but hopefully we can put the drama to bed and just get back to being student-athletes and having a great college experience."
Whittingham noted in the same press conference that he hopes that with the most recent calamity, Moore's indiscretions, football can again be the main focus in Ann Arbor. The players are eager to showcase their capability, and he doesn't want the shadows of the past to haunt the program any further.
Instead, he wants both aspects of a player's life -- being both a student and an athlete -- to take center stage, once again.
"There has been a lot of drama, as I mentioned before," Whittingham said. "We hope that we've come to the end of that and we're ready to proceed just with the business of playing football and winning football games and graduating players and putting the emphasis on things that should have the emphasis.
"But there were some unfortunate things that happened. That's not my place to really speak out on it. That wasn't there. I was not involved. But I can tell you right now we've got a very hungry and willing group of players that have done nothing but have worked their tail off for the last seven months and are here to get the season started. And they've got very good leadership as well. And so I'm just excited to make the first thing first, which is graduating and winning football games."
Later, at his podium session, he shared more about how a program -- and the media, and the overall narrative -- can shift from being known as dramatic or controversial. Given that all of the 'scandals' in Ann Arbor have been coach-driven, he thinks that it will be in the rearview sooner rather than later.
"I think it can change pretty quickly, especially when the drama is not player-driven," Whittingham said. "The drama is not player-driven. The players are doing what they're supposed to do. They're doing the things that they were recruited to do. They're not going to work as soon as I say something. They're living their lives the right way and they're accountable. Unfortunately, the drama came from the adults. How can you hold the players? They can't be held accountable for that. In a lot of ways, they can be commended for how they handled it.
"To answer your question, I believe we can put that aside and in the rearview mirror rather quickly. We already have, to a certain extent. The only way to do it is just keep proving it every day. You're just doing the right things. You're not creating controversy and having distractions and just taking care of your business the right way."
The page is being turned if it hasn't been turned already. Summer conditioning is drawing to a close, with fall camp set to begin next week with eyes on the September 5 season opener against Western Michigan at The Big House.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Can Kyle Whittingham move Michigan past its scandals?
