The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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54 THE WOLVERINE ❱ JUNE/JULY 2026 A t Utah, now-Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham went undefeated with a Sugar Bowl victory over Alabama in 2008, had a streak of 10 straight winning seasons (2014-23) and was in charge of a team that ended with 11 victories in 2025. If the 12- team College Football Playoff had existed before 2024, Whittingham would've led Utah to the event in three of four postsea- sons from 2019-22 (2019, '21, '22). If he can win there for 21 years, he can do it at Michigan, which has more re- sources and tradition. The competition in the Big Ten is tougher, but he'll have better players and more money to con- sistently hire great staff members around him. On3's Chris Low recently spent time with Whittingham and watched spring practice at Michigan. The reporter ap- peared on the "Andy and Ari On3" pod- cast and shared his view on how Whit- tingham is approaching having the resources at his disposal at Michigan. "He's not complaining about it, I can tell you that," Low said with a smile. "I asked him that very question, and he said, 'When I first got there and I talked to the guys' — I think he spent three days, eight hours a day talking to every player — 'there was that stigma a little bit in the back of my head that I'm going to find a lot of four- and five-star kids that are en- titled.' And he said it wasn't like that at all. "It was more, what do we need to do, how can you help us, how can we get back to making Michigan football what Michi- gan football is, on and off the field? A lot of those kids were beaten down a little bit by what happened with the messy [exit] of Sherrone Moore and some of the embar- rassment, even though they didn't have anything to do with it. "... Everything he's asked for … They completely redid that weight room. It's pretty new, but they completely recon- figured it. Nobody blinked an eye. They did it because they felt like they needed to do some different things the way they wanted to structure their weight program. So, they did it immediately." That speaks to the latitude Whitting- ham has at Michigan to do what it takes to win, cost be damned. One of the most important costs for a college football pro- gram to finance is the roster, and the Wol- verines are doing just fine there, too. "They're not going to hurt for money," Low said of Michigan. "You start talking about schools spending 40 and 50 mil- lion dollars. I don't think Michigan's at 50 million, but they're going to be darn close to 40, if not over 40. "And he told me he thinks next year, the '27 cycle, there will be at least 12 teams over $50 million — and I can promise you Michigan has the cash and has the wealthy boosters and donors to be able to swim in those waters." Culture still matters, and Whittingham knows that as well as anybody. "There's really no reason — and I don't mean this to diss SC — but Utah beat USC twice in one year," Low said of the 2022 season. And it did under Whittingham. "Great football players win," Low noted. "Talented football players win. But I still don't think — and this is the thing he told me — you go out and buy a national championship. "You better coach them, you better still develop them, even if they're coming up from another school, and you better be able to get them to buy into what you're doing and your system. Look at that crowd in Bloomington, Indiana, last year. They were a model for doing those things. "And you better spend wisely — that's the other thing Kyle said. You just go out and start throwing money at kids, and maybe the intel comes back that they're not quite a fit but, boy, their tape looks good so you overpay to get them. … That's when you're going to back yourself into a corner. He's too good of a football coach, and he's done it for too long. He under- stands what winning football is. I don't think we'll see him do that." More than anything, Whittingham knows what to do — and Michigan needed a leader with that quality. Now, it's time to execute his plan at Michigan. He has plenty of gas left in the tank, even though he was close to retiring at Utah before ul- timately deciding he wanted to continue coaching, only leaving after the adminis- tration came back with stipulations that included him ceding significant control of his own program. "He's 66, but really probably more like 46," Low said. "A lot of energy. "I don't think this was on anybody's radar, but as I look around college football, when you list all the boxes of what Michi- gan needs right now, I can't think of many that Kyle Whittingham doesn't check. From a proven track record to running the football to being tough on defense, just having an air of toughness that surrounds your program, hiring good people. "There's no reason that Michigan shouldn't be competing for champion- ships year in, year out, to be in that mix. Now you've got a guy who's done it, who's won conference championships." ❏ SAYFIE BLITZ ❱ CLAYTON SAYFIE Resources Are Not An Issue U-M head coach Kyle Whittingham recently told On3 national college football reporter Chris Low he thinks that in the 2027 cycle there will be at least a dozen college football teams spending over $50 million on their rosters. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Staff writer Clayton Sayfie has covered Michigan athletics for The Wolverine since 2019. Contact him at Clayton.Sayfie @on3.com and follow him on X (Twitter) @CSayf23.