A whirlwind two weeks resulted in Kyle Whittingham accepting a five-year contract to coach the Michigan Wolverines.
After resigning as Utah’s head football coach on Dec. 12, Whittingham kept his coaching options open and made no secret that he was considering other jobs.
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“I’m a free agent. I’m in the transfer portal,” Whittingham said on Dec. 18. “Yeah, it’s a different feeling, but like I said, I’m at peace and I don’t want to be that person who’s not popular and people just say, ‘Hey, when is this person going to leave?’
“That was never my intention and I wish I hadn’t done that. I’m sure to some people I did, but for me the timing was right.”
Asked that day what the process was like for deciding whether to pursue other opportunities or move into the special assistant position at Utah State, Whittingham responded: “If my phone rings, I answer it, who do I like to call? And then we’ll see. Yeah, that’s pretty much the process.”
Michigan State athletic director Ward Manuel called Whittingham, and Whittingham liked what he heard. After 21 years as Utah State’s head coach, the next time Whittingham is seen, he will be wearing Michigan blue.
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According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel (Pete Thamel), Whittingham’s five-year contract with the University of Michigan has an average annual salary of $8.2 million, and he said the contract is 75% guaranteed.
For Utah State, the seamless transition from Whittingham to coach-designate Morgan Scully has turned into a tug-of-war that could have widespread ramifications for college football in Utah.
With the transfer portal opening on January 2, Whittingham must fill out his staff quickly, and while he will be searching across the country, some of his best options may be in his hometown.
Utah offensive coordinator Jason Baker and BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill have become targets of Whittingham’s coaching staff at Michigan, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz.
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Baker turned around Utah’s offense in one offseason, leading Utah to average 40.9 points per game (fifth nationally) and 269.8 rushing yards per game (second nationally).
Hill, meanwhile, has transformed BYU’s defense, taking it from giving up 29.5 points per game in 2022 to 19.6 points per game in 2024 and 19 points per game in 2025.
Utah tight ends coach Freddy Whittingham (Kyle’s brother) also seems likely to move to Ann Arbor.
Other potential targets include Utah offensive line coach Jim Hardin (who is coming off his best coaching job to date) and defensive ends coach Lewis Powell.
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Sculley’s first game as Utah’s head coach will be Dec. 31 in the Las Vegas Bowl against Nebraska, and his first few weeks as Utah’s head coach are likely to be very busy.
Depending on what happens with Whittingham’s staff, Sculley could now be looking for an offensive coordinator, a defensive coordinator, an offensive line coach, a defensive ends coach and more in his first year at Utah.
If these coaches head to Michigan, which players could follow them? What current players at Utah State will be an improvement over the caliber of athletes that Michigan currently has and is able to attract?
There are a lot of unknowns, but one thing is for sure: Scully will have his hands full while preparing for the Utes’ bowl game.
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Under Whittingham, Utah State has maintained relative stability for 21 years in an increasingly unstable world of college football. Now, Scully and the Utes are in one of the program’s most important moments since late 2004, when Whittingham decided to take the Utah job instead of BYU after Urban Meyer left for Florida State.
If the coaching staff and much of the roster remains largely the same, Utah State will be considered a contender for the 2026 Big 12 title, according to the plan.
Instead, depending on which coaches and players follow Whittingham to Michigan, Scully could be in for an uphill battle in his first season as Utah’s head coach.
Yes, it’s easier than ever to rebuild a program in the portal era, and Utah State has historically had to deal with about 50 percent roster turnover every season, but it won’t be the smooth transition the school originally planned for Scully.
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Instead, he must quickly assemble a staff and work to retain or hire enough key personnel before the transfer portal officially opens.
For Michigan, hiring Whittingham is a home run considering the Wolverines’ limited options after Christmas.
Michigan has been searching for a new coach since the school fired Sherrone Moore on Dec. 10 for “an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.”
Shortly after Moore was fired, he was arrested on charges of third-degree burglary, burglary and stalking after an alleged confrontation with a female staffer at her home in Michigan.
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Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham and Alabama’s Karen DeBoer were reportedly top targets in Michigan’s coaching search, but after both decided to stay at their respective schools, Michigan’s focus turned to Whittingham.
After retiring, Whittingham’s contract requires him to serve as “special assistant to the athletic director” at Utah State for a two-year term with an annual salary of $3.45 million.
However, Whittingham still has coaching aspirations.
“I don’t know if it’s out of your system. I mean it’s in your blood, so I don’t know that,” Whittingham said last Thursday.
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“That being said, I’m not sure what I’m going to do, but when you have coaching in your blood, it doesn’t go away.”
For Whittingham, it’s a chance to extend his career and chase a goal that has eluded him throughout his storied career – making the College Football Playoff.
At Michigan, he will have the resources he needs to compete for a CFP spot and more. After turning down offers from schools like Tennessee while at Utah State, Whittingham will now get a chance to show off what he can do at a prestigious school.
Whittingham could prove to be a good hire for the Wolverines after Michigan eliminated its top option. The 66-year-old’s program in Utah is very clean and he has never been personally involved in any scandals. Whittingham will provide a much-needed cultural reset for the program.
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Aside from the benefit of keeping Michigan away from any further controversy, Whittingham is a proven winner. As Utah head coach, he compiled a 177-88 record and won three conference titles, including two Pac-12 championships, and had an undefeated season in the Mountain West Conference in 2008 that included a Sugar Bowl victory over Alabama.
Whittingham transformed Utah State from a Mountain West school into a consistent winner in power conferences. In 21 seasons with Utah, Whittingham posted a winning record in 18 of those years, with 10 or more wins in eight of those seasons.
Whittingham went 10-2 this season, rebounding from a 5-7 record in 2024 and proving he still has a good coaching career in store.
However, the twilight years of Whittingham’s coaching career would come in Ann Arbor as Utah turned the corner on the Sculley era.
As Utah State and Cincinnati prepare to play against each other on Saturday, November 1, 2025 at Rice Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, recruit Bode Sparrow talks with Utah State head coaches Kyle Whittingham and Morgan Scully. Scott G Winterton, Deseret News