Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with Michigan’s official announcement of Kyle Whittingham’s hiring.
Kyle Whittingham will not wait until after Utah football’s Las Vegas Bowl appearance to begin the next chapter of his coaching career at Michigan.
According to multiple reports, Whittingham is expected to join the Wolverines in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday, Dec. 27 for their preparations to play against Texas in the Citrus Bowl. Michigan formally announced the hiring of Whittingham late Friday, Dec. 26.
Whittingham has agreed to a five-year deal with the Wolverines, according to Tony Garcia of the Detroit Free Press — part of the USA TODAY Network — to be the successor to Sherrone Moore in Ann Arbor. It is just the second stop for Whittingham in his career as a head coach, as he spent 22 seasons at the helm of the Utes program.
‘Kyle Whittingham is a well-respected and highly successful head coach who is widely recognized as a leader of exceptional character and principled leadership,’ Michigan athletic director Warden Manuel said in a statement. ‘Throughout our search, he consistently demonstrated the qualities we value at Michigan: vision, resilience, and the ability to build and sustain championship-caliber teams.
‘Kyle brings not only a proven track record of success, but also a commitment to creating a program rooted in toughness, physicality, discipline and respect — where student-athletes and coaches represent the university with distinction both on and off the field. We are excited to welcome Kyle to the University of Michigan family as he takes the helm of our football program.’
The Las Vegas Bowl was originally expected to be Whittingham’s final game at Utah, as he announced on Friday, Dec. 12 that he was stepping down. He later clarified his decision to reporters on Thursday, Dec. 18 that he wasn’t retiring and was instead ‘in the transfer portal.’
Whittingham is just the second Michigan head coach who did not have a previous tie with the program since Bo Schembechler retired in 1990. He brings a 177-88 overall record as a head coach to the Wolverines.
At Michigan, Whittingham will now be tasked with leading the program after numerous offseason scandals over the past several seasons, including the firing and subsequent arrest of Moore. The Wolverines announced on Wednesday, Dec. 10 that Moore was fired with cause after a university investigation found ‘credible evidence’ of him having been engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.
More pressing to Michigan at the moment will be Whittingham’s ability to retain the talent on the Wolverines’ current roster, most notably freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood. Players have five days following the hiring of a football coach to enter their names into the NCAA transfer portal.
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