Reports: Michigan to hire Utah’s Kyle Whittingham as football coach
George Frey, Associated Press
Utah head football coach Kyle Whittingham looks at the scoreboard during a game at BYU on Oct. 18, 2025, in Provo.Two weeks ago, the University of Utah announced Kyle Whittingham’s 21-season run as its head football coach was coming to an end on Dec. 31 after he coached the Utes in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Utah moved on and expectedly named longtime defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley as the next head coach. But conspicuously absent from Utah’s announcement about the 66-year-old coach was the word “retire.”
Now, Whittingham appears set to trade his familiar crimson and white for the storied maize and blue.
According to multiple reports, Michigan is set to hire Whittingham as a fixer for its mired-in-scandal program in a move that could set off a new turn on the state of Utah’s football coaching carousel.
ESPN senior writers Dan Wetzel and Pete Thamel first reported the news Friday morning that Whittingham “emerged as the focus” of Michigan’s search to replace Sherrone Moore, who was fired earlier this month for having a relationship with a Michigan staffer and then arrested as a suspect in a stalking and home invasion case.
Thamel’s report later progressed late Friday afternoon; he reported on social media site X that the deal is done and that Michigan is hiring Whittingham on a five-year contract.
Tony Garcia of Detroit Free Press had reported late Friday morning that the hire was a done deal.
As Friday evening approached, no official announcement had been made but Garcia wrote that was expected “in relatively short order.”
“A clean break from the past, a coach with winning experience across multiple conferences and a leader who entered the 2025 season on most lists of the top 10 college coaches in the sport,” Garcia wrote. “Taken together, it says Kyle Whittingham is a beyond-solid hire for Michigan football.”
The move casts doubts on the status quo for other coaching staffs in the state.
CBS Sports writer Matt Zenitz reported on X that BYU’s Jay Hill is “expected to be among the names of interest” for Michigan’s defensive coordinator, while saying Utah’s Jason Beck is “the target” to be Whittingham’s offensive coordinator.
Whittingham has been Utah’s head coach since the 2005 season and was on the coaching staff since 1994. With a 177-88 (.668) record over 21 seasons, Whittingham finished with 18 winning seasons at Utah and won at least 10 games in eight seasons.
