The University of Michigan hired outgoing Utah coach Kyle Whittingham to lead the scandal-plagued Wolverines football program Friday, a little more than two weeks after the shocking dismissal and arrest of coach Sherrone Moore.
The program announced the hiring decision Friday night and said Whittingham’s five year contract will run through the 2030 season.
Athletics Director Warde Manuel said that throughout the search for a new coach, Whittingham “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,” he said in a written statement announcing the deal.
Whittingham announced two weeks ago that he was stepping down as the Utah’s winningest coach — though the 66-year-old didn’t rule out coaching again.
It’s been widely reported that Whittingham was leaving his post after more than two decades to make way for defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley, who had been hired in July 2024 as the “head coach in waiting.”
Had Whittingham returned for the 2026 season, it would have marked a third year of Scalley as a named successor.
“My family and I are thrilled to join the University of Michigan community, and we look forward to helping our players grow, develop, and reach their highest potential — on the gridiron, in the classroom, and as leaders,” Whittingham said in the statement. “It’s a privilege to be part of something that inspires pride in every Wolverine fan.”
Michigan, major college football’s winningest program, is seeking to right a ship that’s been rocked by scandal.
The school announced on Dec. 10 that Moore was “terminated, with cause, effective immediately.”
“Following a university investigation, credible evidence was found that Coach Moore engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member,” the school said. “This conduct constitutes a clear violation of University policy, and UM maintains zero tolerance for such behavior.”
After he was fired, Moore allegedly confronted the female staffer and threatened to harm himself, telling her “my blood is on your hands” and that she had “ruined my life,” prosecutors said.
Moore, 39, was charged with home invasion, stalking and breaking and entering.
On Nov. 20, 2023, Michigan suspended football analytics assistant Connor Stalions after the school found that he allegedly had opponents’ sidelines videotaped so that the Wolverines could decode signals.
Michigan dominated the Washington Huskies, 34-13, on Jan. 8, 2024, at NRG Stadium in Houston to win the national title — though the sign-stealing scandal has taken some luster off that championship ring.
The NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers hired Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh two weeks later.
Former assistant football coach Matthew Weiss was indicted and accused of breaking into the digital accounts of 3,300 students to download their intimate photos and videos, federal prosecutors said March 30.
The Wolverines, in hiring Whittingham, get a coach who has led a generally scandal-free program that’s been winning two-thirds of its games without the glamour or resources of West Coast peers like USC and Oregon.
Whittingham was 177-88 (.668) at the helm in Utah with three 10-win seasons in the past five campaigns.
In the statement, Michigan President Domenico Grasso described Whittingham as “exactly the right fit for the University of Michigan at this time.”
It wasn’t immediately clear whether Whittingham would bring any of his Utah assistants with him to Ann Arbor, a common practice when head coaches switch jobs in college football.
Whittingham’s deputies include 14th-year cornerbacks coach Sharrieff Shah, whose student-athletes played a key role in Utah’s strong pass defense this season.
Shah is married to former “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star Jen Shah.
The No. 15 Utes are set to play Nebraska on Wednesday in the Las Vegas Bowl. Michigan will face No. 13 Texas that day in the Citrus Bowl.
David K. Li
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