The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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158 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2026 FOOTBALL PREVIEW SAYFIE BLITZ CLAYTON SAYFIE T here have been six Michi- gan head coaches since Bo Schembechler retired, and four of them were fired — Gary Moeller (1990-94), Rich Rodriguez (2008-10), Brady Hoke (2011-14) and Sherrone Moore (2024-25). The only two that left on their own were Lloyd Carr (1995-2007; retired) and Jim Harbaugh (2015-23; NFL), both of whom brought national champi- onships back to Ann Arbor. Out of 21 coaches to exit Michi- gan, Moore's departure was the messiest. "It's the only one that involved law enforcement and the courts, so yes, it's No. 1," Michigan football historian and best-selling author John U. Bacon noted. As Moore's tenure went along, certainly given the reason for his firing, an inappropriate relationship with a staff member, it became apparent he wasn't fit to lead the program. Moore became the first Michigan head coach to be let go after just two seasons since Tad Wieman in 1928. Michigan's top two money-making sports, football and men's basketball, changed coaches in a two-year period, with Dusty May taking over for Juwan Howard and Kyle Whittingham replacing Moore. Michigan went 17-8 with Moore at the helm, hardly a disaster on the field. It went 8-24 in Howard's final season, but it also won a Big Ten title and made the Elite Eight and Sweet 16 under his leadership. May has already led Michigan to the 2026 national title, and Whittingham is widely viewed as a top-10 coach in the sport. Given the prior circumstances in each instance, Michigan made exceptional hires. "You might argue, the untimely firings of both Juwan Howard and Sherrone Moore might have spared Michigan fans a few more years of, at best, mediocre basket- ball and football, and maybe worse," Bacon said. "To rebound with Dusty May and Kyle Whittingham, that's like pulling out a plum in both cases. Just amazingly good fortune, but also well-handled." Whittingham is 66, meaning he's not only the oldest Michigan head man at the time of hiring but, come September, will be the oldest to coach a game. While he flirted with retirement in recent years, he didn't want to stop coaching. The Utah admin- istration said he could return in 2026, but under strict stipulations that were, frankly, insulting to a legend like Whittingham. The stars aligned for him to land in Ann Arbor, where he has a lot of motivation. "How is he going to fare at Michigan?" Bacon asked. "He is without question — it's not even close — the oldest Michigan foot- ball coach by far. Bo was about 60 when he stepped down, but he had heart issues and so on. This guy, not only does he not drink beer, he doesn't drink Diet Coke. He's going to outlive us all. You meet the guy, he's still in phenomenal shape. "He also has, very importantly, fire in the belly. He's got something to prove. He's not spoken publicly about it, but my strong sense is he was not thrilled with how it was handled at Utah on his way out. And he'd love to prove them wrong and push them aside, basically. He's got a golden opportu- nity to do exactly that." "He's one of the most competitive peo- ple that you'll ever know, and I think you see that on the sidelines," said Utah beat writer Josh Furlong of KSL. The resources at Michigan are at another level, something Whittingham has said himself, but the way his teams have played lines up almost exactly with what Michigan has been. "He believes in physicality, he believes if you win on the line of scrimmage, you have the best chance to win the game," Furlong explained. The San Luis Obispo, Calif., na- tive posted a 177-88 record in 21 seasons at Utah, propping the Utes up as a powerhouse in three dif- ferent conferences. He went unde- feated, 13-0, in 2008, and had eight double-digit win campaigns. Imagine what he can do with the talent Michigan attracts. The Wolverines landed the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 class, sophomore quarterback Bryce Un- derwood, who's entering his second year as the starter. The Utes were never in the running for a prospect of that caliber. There's enough firepower around Underwood to believe that if the quarterback elevates his game to be a top half of the Big Ten signal-caller, the Wol- verines could be playoff bound, even with a tough schedule. While he has improve- ments to make, he's got 13 games of experi- ence under his belt. "Most freshmen, when they make mis- takes, do so on Tuesdays, when no one is watching," Bacon noted. "They don't make them on the biggest stage in college foot- ball." Underwood's were on full display last season, and he should be better off for it. Whittingham and Co. will have to go through some tough opponents, but he's done so in the past, surprising the college football world. "You've gone from one of the softest to one of the hardest, and Whittingham could be two games better than Sherrone Moore last year and have three more losses be- cause of what you're facing," Bacon said. "It's not just the quality of the opponents, but the home and away aspect, as well." But nobody would be surprised if Michi- gan was playing in December and Janu- ary because Whittingham has elevated his teams throughout his career. "This worked out, I think, very, very well for Michigan fans," Bacon said. ❏ Landing Kyle Whittingham Is 'Good Fortune' Whittingham, who posted a 177-88 record in 21 seasons at Utah, brings a competitive edge in his new role at Michigan. PHOTO BY TY KORNBLUE 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.