The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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74 THE WOLVERINE ❱ MARCH 2026 Y ears ago, Lloyd Carr went off on a tangent during one of his typi- cal Monday, usually mundane press conferences before a Sat- urday Big Ten matchup. Never considered an excited partici- pant in those, nor forthcoming with the information, the for- mer Michigan coach had plenty to say, nonetheless, when a re- porter strayed off topic to ask his thoughts about a potential college football playoff. We don't recall everything he said, other than it was clear he was vehemently opposed and that he ended with this: "If there is a playoff, I don't want to be around to see it." He paused. "Well, wait …" He laughed, and the room laughed with him. Even back then, he (and we) knew it was coming, and we expected Carr, who last summer celebrated his 80th birthday, to be around when it did. Sure enough, not only has he been, but he was also able to witness the Wol- verines capture their first national title since his team brought it home in 1997 when they beat Alabama and Washing- ton in a four-team playoff two years ago. We can only imagine how Carr would feel about the NIL era, but we'd guess it would be the same jolt it's been for all veteran coaches. New Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham would be among them, admitting to the Salt Lake Tri- bune last year he had to change his line of thinking. "It is a challenge, especially when you're used to a developmental pro- gram," Whittingham said. "It's not completely out the window, but that has definitely taken a backseat to NIL and the play-now mentality." And with that, a segment of short- sighted Utah fans (and some young private equity "suits" if you believe the rumblings) assumed maybe Whitting- ham: A) wouldn't embrace the new cli- mate and they'd have to settle for medi- ocrity, or B) would be better off retiring. His brother, Brady Whittingham, told the Tribune even before last season he didn't think his sibling could walk away, for one big reason. "The luxury — and it sounds crazy, and this is just me — of being able to sit at home while other teams are out pre- paring … made him realize he couldn't be done," he said. Others, like his friend and former boss and Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, also cited his buddy's competitive na- ture when Michigan came calling as a reason he expected Whittingham to take the job. He was right, of course. But this is not some "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" venture for the 66-year-old coach, as Utes fans have found out. Everyone we've spoken with tells us he's one of those "hates to lose as much as he likes to win" guys, and to Utah fans' chagrin, he poached their best coaches, some of their top players and has hit the ground running to try to win a title at Michigan. In fact, sources in Ann Arbor told us not only was he "OK" with U-M's portal pursuits and NIL travails, but he embraced them and wanted to pursue the best of the best as long as they understood the mission. "You will become us," Whit- tingham said. "We will not be- come you as far as the players that are coming in. You will be- come us and do things the way that we do things." Meyer told the Tribune what a lot of folks were probably thinking at that point — "I still think you [can coach] culture to a degree, but maybe not as hard as in the past." And it's fair to question if he or anyone else can find that balance in this era. It's forced some into retirement, even, thinking it's not worth the effort. Not this guy. It's a new chal- lenge, and one he has embraced. "We've got excellent resources here," he said. "The NIL, the rev share, all that … all of what college football is today is right among the top tier of the universi- ties in the country. "It's a whole different ballgame now with the transfer portal … and it's not done changing. I can tell you that right now, I think in the next three to five years, there's going to be significantly more change towards an NFL minor league type of a model. Hopefully, I've learned some lessons and been there, done that. I've been through the cycle 21 times now, and I feel like I'm completely equipped to take over this position here." We're about to find out. And while we wish the Utes well — a program and fan base we've always respected — we sus- pect their loss is going to be Michigan's gain in a big, big way. ❏ New U-M head coach Kyle Whittingham has shown the ability to adapt to the many changes in college football, including NIL, revenue sharing and the transfer portal. PHOTO BY TY KORNBLUE Chris Balas has been with The Wolverine since 1997. Contact him at cbalas@ thewolverine.com and follow him on X (Twitter) @Balas _ Wolverine. INSIDE MICHIGAN ❱ CHRIS BALAS Utah's Loss Is Michigan's Gain