It has been nearly two weeks since Michigan fired Sherrone Moore in the middle of another scandal for the program. Biff Poggi has made his case to have the interim tag removed from his title. Regardless, soon-to-be former Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham remains a name that frequently surfaces as a potential candidate to fill the job.
According to John Brice of Football Scoop, Whittingham remains a “fixture” at the center of the coaching search for the Wolverines. Whittingham has announced he will be stepping down from the job at the end of the season, with Morgan Scalley taking over as the new head coach of the program. The Utah coach will still coach his team one more time, as Utah faces Nebraska in the Las Vegas Bowl on December 31st.
A coach like Whittingham may be a perfect fit for a Michigan program looking for stabiltiy, and to move away from the disfunction and scandals of recent years. He has been a coach at Utah since 1994, and was the defensive coordinator from 1995 through 2004. He would take over for Urban Meyer starting in 2005, as Meyer left for Florida.
Since then, he was gone 177-88 at Utah, won two Pac-12 Titles and a Mountain West crown. Beyond the stability he has brought to that program, he has a spotless track record with the NCAA.
Michigan needs to move on a new head coach soon. The NCAA Transfer Portal opens on January 2nd and runs through the 16th. Further, players can enter the portal for five days following the announcement of a new head coach. With the portal about to open, Michigan needs to give some certainty about the future of the program, or risk losing players elsewhere. Signing a coach like Whittinham would give a lot of certainty to the future.
