The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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20 THE WOLVERINE ❱ FEBRUARY 2026 gia's Kirby Smart, Ohio State's Ryan Day, Clemson's Dabo Swinney, Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman, Texas' Steve Sarkisian, Oregon's Dan Lanning, Ala- bama's Kalen DeBoer and the former Penn State head coach now at Virginia Tech, James Franklin. "Michigan fans are about to find out what I've known since I met Coach Whitt as a freshman at Utah: he's a true leader, the ultimate competitor, and most importantly a winner," said former Utah and NFL quarterback and current NFL analyst Alex Smith. "He's as tough as they come, with the charac- ter to match. I can't wait to see this next chapter for the Maize and Blue." It took some self-convinc- ing, though, before he'd accept the job. He chose to step down this sea- son after an 11-2 campaign in which the Utes just missed a playoff berth, but it wasn't easy for him. When he did, he insisted he wasn't necessarily done coaching. "I don't know if it's ever out of your system," Whittingham said at the Utah transition press conference. "It's in your blood. That being said, I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but when you've got the coaching in your blood, it just doesn't go away. "… I'm at peace. I did not want to be that guy that overstayed his welcome and people say, 'When's this guy going to leave?' That was not my intention ever, and I hope I didn't do that. I'm sure with some people I did do that. But, to me, the timing was right." The Michigan job had opened just two days earlier and with the Wolverines' administration showing interest, he in- sisted he had to listen. Not surprisingly, he called some in his inner circle for their opinions, a big one in particular. "I've had some good resources," Whittingham said. "Urban Meyer — I don't know if that's a four-letter word in this room or not — but Urban and I are very tight. I got some counsel from him. He's been a few places, and the key is to get guys in that you trust, get guys that you're familiar with, do things your way. "He was excited for me. He said it's a great place, great opportunity. He was surprised, as was I. I have his full sup- port." Joining "Wake Up Barstool" on Fox Sports 1 shortly after the hire, Meyer weighed in on what Michigan is getting in Whittingham. "He called me one day and he says, 'Hey, what do you think?'" Meyer re- called. "And I said, 'Are you kidding me?' You step down at Utah, and then we started talking about the Wolverines. "My comment was … yes, there's a ri- valry, there's hatred [between Michigan and Ohio State], but you name someone that respects that school more than me, and I'd probably argue with you. "I have so much respect. Bo Schem- bechler was a friend. The reason we work so hard to beat their ass was be- cause we respected them so much. We worked on them every day — every day of our careers. "When Kyle told me that, I said, 'Kyle, it's a no-brainer. You could win a national title there.'" It's a hard job, and he'll be under scrutiny he's never been under before at Utah, Meyer added, but that was one of the selling points. "This is a blue-blood pro- gram. You can get any player you want. You have elite aca- demics. You have the challenges in recruiting that Northern schools have. "But here's why the Wolverine na- tion should be ecstatic — he's a tough cat. That's a tough dude, man. You're going to see, when the Wolverines were the Wolverines of old, like they were a couple years ago, they were a line-of- scrimmage team that tackled really well, played physical, tough defense and they controlled the line of scrimmage on of- fense — and that's what he is. "And he's adapted well to the new era of player. When he was my defensive coordinator, he was firm and had high expectations, but he was never demean- ing. The players always respected him, and that's the No. 1 quality that he has." OFF AND RUNNING Whittingham's No. 1 priority when he arrived was roster retention, and he got plenty of good news before the portal closed Jan. 16 when quarterback Bryce Underwood, almost all the offensive line, cornerback Jyaire Hill, and other key players re-signed on NIL deals. Part of that came with putting his coaching staff together. He brought sev- eral key members with him from Utah. That included highly regarded offensive coordinator Jason Beck, who led an out- standing Utes offense this year. He also snagged BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill and retained Michigan assistants Tony Alford, Kerry Coombs, and Lou Esposito. "There are some excellent coaches on Whittingham Contract Details Revealed Kyle Whittingham's initial Michigan contract has been revealed, and as expected, it's a good chunk of change. The five-year deal, which runs through 2030 and is worth $41 million, makes him the eighth-highest-paid coach in the Big Ten behind Ryan Day (Ohio State, $12.5 million), Curt Cignetti (Indiana, $11.6), Lincoln Riley (USC, $11.5), Dan Lanning (Oregon, $10.4), Matt Campbell (Penn State, between $9-10), Matt Rhule (Nebraska, $8.5) and Illinois (Bret Bielema, $8.4) among Big Ten coaches. "Kyle Whittingham's five-year deal at Michigan averages $8.2 million per year over the course of the deal, sources tell me and Dan Wetzel," ESPN's Pete Thamel reported via social media. "The deal is 75 percent guaranteed, and he's expected to make $8 million in salary at Michigan in 2026." Whittingham takes over for Sherrone Moore, fired in early December, and interim coach Biff Poggi, who took over after serving as Moore's associate head coach and coaching in the Citrus Bowl against Texas. Whittingham's salary at Utah was $6.9 million, ac- cording to the On3 college football coaching salaries index, compared to Moore's $6.1 million in his second season as Michigan head coach. "Michigan Football is in GREAT hands under Kyle Whittingham!" Poggi said on social media. "Proven winner, true gentleman, tough nosed Michigan coach of days gone by. Great hire by [athletics director] Warde Manuel. The kids will love him. Exciting days ahead for Michigan." — Chris Balas ❱ Desmond Howard, U-M Heisman Trophy winner and ESPN analyst "He's your favorite coach's favorite coach, and that says everything."