The Michigan football team has found its next head coach to replace Sherron Moore and has hired Utah State football’s Kyle Whittingham.
Michigan State athletic director Ward Manuel’s hiring was endorsed by current interim coach Biff Poggi. Although the university has not officially announced Whittingham’s hiring as of this writing, the Detroit Free Press has confirmed ESPN’s report that the 66-year-old coach has been signed to a five-year contract that will reportedly pay him an average of $8.2 million per year.
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Must read: Michigan State signs Utah’s Kyle Whittingham to 5-year contract to be next coach
“Michigan football is in great hands under Kyle Whittingham…” Poggi wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, Dec. 26. “Proven winner, true gentleman, tough coach of yesteryear at Michigan State. Great hire by Ward Manuel. The kids are going to love him. Exciting days ahead for Michigan State.”
“We’ve got work to do in the next five days. Texas is great. GoBlue.”
Porgi is expected to fulfill his interim head coaching duties during Michigan’s Citrus Bowl game against Texas at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The Wolverines announced on social media that they would land in Orlando at 8:44 p.m. ET, more than an hour after Porgy commented on Whittingham.
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According to multiple reports, Whittingham is expected to join the Wolverines in Orlando on Saturday, December 27, in preparation for their bowl game. With Whittingham expected to arrive on Saturday, it appears the longtime Utah coach will not coach the Utes in the Las Vegas Bowl on Wednesday, Dec. 31.
After 22 seasons in Salt Lake City, he is expected to resign after the Las Vegas Bowl. But he later clarified on Thursday, December 18, that he was not retiring but was “in the transfer portal”.
The Citrus Bowl will be Poggi’s third game of the season as interim head coach. He led the team in Weeks 3 and 4 while Moore was serving a two-game suspension for his role in the Connor Stallings sign-stealing scandal. Porgi, a longtime high school coach, is in his second stint as Michigan’s associate head coach.
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In his final media appearance with the team on Tuesday, Dec. 22, Poggi told reporters that he wants to be Michigan’s permanent head coach and that he wants to “fix the program.”
Ultimately, Michigan found Whittingham to replace Moore. Moore was fired from the school on Wednesday, Dec. 10, after a university investigation found that Moore had an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. He was arrested that day and charged on Friday, Dec. 12, with three counts, including burglary, a third-degree felony.
This article originally appeared in the Detroit Free Press: Biff Poggi backs Michigan football team’s hiring of Kyle Whittingham