Michigan is finalizing a deal to hire Kyle Whittingham as the school’s 22nd head football coach, a source told The Detroit News on Friday.
Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel shared the latest on the coaching search with the university’s Board of Regents in a meeting Friday morning, a source said. The meeting was meant for the Regents to be updated on the coaching search process and candidates, but the Board does not vote or approve a potential hiring.
Another candidate thought to be in the mix told a source Michigan wants a “sitting head coach.” Whittingham, 66, is 177-88 as head coach, making him the most successful coach in Utah football history since he became head coach before the 2005 season. Earlier this month, he announced he was stepping down but said he was not done coaching and joked he was in the “transfer portal” and would listen to offers.
Michigan has been searching for a new head coach since Sherrone Moore was fired for cause Dec. 10 after a university investigation found “credible evidence” he was involved in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. Moore had just completed his second season as head coach.
Interim head coach Biff Poggi told reporters Monday that Manuel informed the team he would like to have a new head coach by the bowl game. Michigan plays Texas on Wednesday in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. Utah also plays Wednesday in the Las Vegas Bowl against Nebraska.
Whittingham, who made nearly $7 million this season not including bonuses, brings experience and success. The Utes have had 18 winning seasons and won at least 10 games eight times. Whittingham has won three national Coach of the Year awards, most recently in 2019. He also is known for a hard-nosed, disciplined approach to the game and preaches what has been called a hard-work-over-hype mentality.
A key piece to the timing of this hire has been the NCAA transfer portal, which opens Jan. 2. Players and parents already were uncomfortable with Michigan not negotiating with the players until a new head coach is in place. The portal also opens five days after a head coach is hired. It was critical to make the hire early enough to encourage player retention.
Manuel and those working on the search for a new head coach have kept a tight lid on leaks. Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer, thought to be at the top of the wish list, is still coaching in the playoffs and the Tide next play on Jan. 1 in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals against Indiana.
Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham was in the mix but didn’t get an offer and signed an extension with his alma mater. Poggi told reporters this week he interviewed to become head coach.
Whittingham will be stepping into a program that won a national championship in 2023 under then-head coach Jim Harbaugh, in the midst of an NCAA investigation, but has had its share of controversy. The university, after Moore’s firing, hired an outside firm to investigate the athletic department in light of the multitude of scandals that have hit the department in recent years. Among them, two recent NCAA investigations into the football program that culminated in a three-year probation that ends in 2027 and another four-year probation ending in 2031.
Poggi on Monday described a program in chaos and said he intended to “fix” the issues in football if he were named head coach.
“Everything that happens in this building has to be reevaluated, quite frankly, because it is not up to standard,” Poggi said. “The staff has to be reevaluated. And I mean the coaches, everybody in the building has to be evaluated, our strength and conditioning, our nutrition, our medical.
“Everything, because obviously, it has been five years of, let’s just call it malfunctioning organization where there’s something every year. And I know that. I know what the athletic director has made very clear – he doesn’t want any more of that. And so if I am named the coach, which, again, I don’t know if I am, but there will be a massive self-examination of what happens in this building, and you can expect a lot of changes.”
Whittingham will have to work quickly to assemble his staff at Michigan. It’s unclear whether he will retain any of the current staff, and he likely will pull from his current Utah staff. He reportedly will bring offensive coordinator Jason Beck, who will be Michigan’s fourth offensive coordinator in four years, and offensive line coach Jim Harding, who is from Toledo and played for the Rockets and briefly coached at Troy (Mich.) High, with him. He also reportedly will hire BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill, who coached at Utah beginning as a graduate assistant in 2001 through 2013 and then became head coach at Weber State (2014-2022) before heading to BYU.
Utah was 10-2 this season and finished ranked sixth in total offense (478.6), second in rushing (269.8) and fifth in scoring (40.9). The defense was ranked 60th overall (360.3) and 111th in rush defense but tied for 17th in scoring (18.7). The Utes are 18th in third-down conversion defense.
achengelis@detroitnews.com
Kyle Whittingham record
Head coaching record: Utah, 2005-2025, 177-88 overall, including 11-6 in bowl games.
Championships: One Mountain West title (2008), two Pac-12 titles (2021, 2022), four Pac-12 division titles (2015, 2018, 2019, 2021).
Awards: AFCA Coach of the Year (2008), Bear Bryant Award (2008), Mountain West Coach of the Year (2008), Bobby Dodd Award (2019), Pac-12 Coach of the Year (2019, 2021).
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