The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1545685
10 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2026 FOOTBALL PREVIEW MICHIGAN FOOTBALL 2 Days after Michigan fired previous head coach Sherrone Moore, Kyle Whittingham stepped down at Utah, but not by design — "the stars aligned," the coach said. Fourteen days into U-M's search for Moore's replacement, Whitting- ham was announced as the new head man. 3 Appearances as a player with the Los Angeles Rams in 1987 as part of the replacement team during the NFL strike. He also earned an opportunity with the Denver Broncos in 1982 but didn't see game action, and competed for multiple seasons in the USFL with the Denver Gold (1983) and New Orleans Breakers (1984). 3-0 Against Michigan while leading the Utah Utes with wins over three head coaches — Rich Rodriguez (25- 23 in 2008), Brady Hoke (26-10 in 2014) and Jim Harbaugh (24-17 in 2015). Whit- tingham has been a part of every Michi- gan-Utah game in history, also serving as defensive coordinator in a 10-7 Wolver- ines win in Ann Arbor in 2002. 4 Probable College Football Playoff berths for Utah if the current 12- team format had been in place for Whit- tingham's 21 seasons at his previous stop (2008, 2019, 2021, 2022). 5-4 R e c o rd f o r W h i t t i n g h a m against Big Ten programs while the head coach at Utah, with three of the victories coming against the Wolverines. He also beat UCLA (2025) and Indiana (2016) and fell to Northwestern (2018, '23), Ohio State (2021) and Penn State (2022). It's worth noting that he is 3-0 against USC coach Lincoln Riley. 8 Consecutive years with his Utah de- fense finishing in the top 30 in the nation in total defense from 2017-24, in- cluding a No. 2 placement in 2019 (269.2 yards per game). 9th Is where Whittingham ap- peared on The Athletic writer Bruce Feldman's ranking of the top col- lege football head coaches entering the 2026 season, following Indiana's Curt Cignetti, Georgia's Kirby Smart, Ohio State's Ryan Day, Alabama's Kalen De- Boer, Miami's Mario Cristobal, Oregon's Dan Lanning, Notre Dame's Marcus Free- man and Clemson's Dabo Swinney. 10 Unanimous or consensus All- Americans for Whittingham as Utah's head coach. He mentored players that stacked up 105 first-team all-con- ference honors. 11-6 Bowl game record for Whit- tingham as head coach at Utah, including a 2-2 mark in New Year's Six games with wins over Pitt (2005 Fi- esta Bowl) and Alabama (2009 Sugar Bowl). He also led the Utes to an 11-6 record against rival BYU, which included nine consecutive wins against the Cou- gars in games played between 2010-19. 12th Of 32 FBS head-coaching hires for this year's carousel is where Whittingham-Michigan ranked on ESPN writer Bill Connelly's list. Con- nelly categorized the move as "perfectly Whittingham compiled a 177-88 record with 18 winning seasons in 21 years as head coach at Utah. He has the third-most wins among active Power Four head coaches, behind only Iowa's Kirk Ferentz (213) and Clemson's Dabo Swinney (187). PHOTO COURTESY UTAH ATHLETICS Kyle Whittingham BY THE NUMBERS BY CLAYTON SAYFIE