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Jason Beck, Wolverine

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New Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham has hired his offensive coordinator: former Utah play caller Jason Beck. On New Year’s Day, Whittingham himself spilled the beans during an appearance on ESPN’s College GameDay. The move had been rumored since Whittingham’s hire was finalized just before Christmas.

A former BYU quarterback (2004-06), Beck also played at Ventura College and College of the Canyons. He started coaching as a graduate assistant at BYU and LSU before landing his first position gig as QBs coach at Weber State (2009-11). From there:

• QBs coach at Simon Fraser (2012, where he was also OC and turned a bottom-ranked offense into a conference leader)
• Back to BYU as QBs coach (2013-15)
• Virginia QBs coach (2016-21) under Bronco Mendenhall, developing guys like Bryce Perkins (who set the school record for total offense) and Brennan Armstrong (who set the school records for season passing yards, individual game passing yards, and touchdowns in a game)
• Syracuse QB coach/OC (2022-23)
• New Mexico OC/QB coach (2024)
• Utah OC/QB coach (2025)

Beck has a reputation as a quarterback whisperer, and his signal callers have routinely put up big numbers. (Side note: I saw some Syracuse fans say their offense got better after Beck left, but in 2023, starting QB Garrett Shrader got hurt so they actually turned to former Michigan QB – who had transitioned to TE – as essentially a wildcat QB, and Villari completed 23/33 passes – including 14/14 against Georgia Tech – and ran for 323 yards and 2 touchdowns over the final four games.)

Utah’s offense was a major problem for defenses in 2025:

• #5 in scoring offense (41.3 points/game)
• #4 in total offense (482.9 yards/game)
• #2 in rushing offense (266.3 rushing yards/game) and #1 in yards per carry (6.02)

This seems like a home run on paper. Sophomore QB Bryce Underwood, the former #1 overall recruit, is a dual-threat talent who showed flashes as a true freshman but was held back by inconsistency and a conservative scheme. Beck’s track record with mobile QBs (Perkins, Armstrong, Dampier) could unlock Underwood’s potential in a big way. Add in a solid running back room, talent on the offensive line, and a good group of tight ends, and this could be a pretty exciting group in 2026.

From a scheme perspective, I think Michigan is going to look different without needing to change much. Underwood should be more of a factor in the run game and more things should open up in the pass game, but Michigan can still be a physical team using a lot of big, powerful personnel. Opponents are going to get a lot of different formations, a lot of eye candy, and a higher number of +1 runs. This offense is going to look like the power spread that Urban Meyer ran at Ohio State with guys like J.T. Barrett.

Jay Hill, Wolverine

Happy New Year, everyone!

As we turn the page to 2026, new head coach Kyle Whittingham has started filling out his staff, officially bringing in BYU’s Jay Hill as the Wolverines’ new defensive coordinator.

Hill spent the last three seasons as BYU’s defensive coordinator and associate head coach under Kalani Sitake. The Cougars just wrapped up a 12-2 campaign with a Pop-Tarts Bowl win over Georgia Tech. Over the last two years, BYU ranked #1 in the Big 12 in scoring defense (19.4 points allowed/game), forced a ton of turnovers (including a nation-leading 22 interceptions in 2024), and racked up 50 sacks combined.

Before BYU, Hill was the head coach at FCS Weber State from 2014-2022, where he posted a 68-39 record, won four straight Big Sky titles (2017-2020), and made six playoff appearances. He turned around a program that had gone 4-19 in the two years before he arrived.

Hill played cornerback for the Utes in 1998-99 (when Whittingham was defensive coordinator), earning second-team All-Mountain West and leading the conference with 6 interceptions in 1999. He then coached under Whittingham at Utah from 2001-2013, starting as a graduate assistant and working his way up to special teams coordinator while coaching positions like cornerbacks, tight ends, and even running backs.

Hill steps into a Michigan unit that was solid in 2025 (#30 in scoring defense, #24 in yards allowed/play), but loses some key pieces like Derrick Moore and Jaishawn Barham to the draft. There’s young talent slated to return on the back end and in the linebacker corps. If Hill can bring that BYU-level disruption (takeaways and sacks) to the Big Ten, this defense could be excellent.

I like that Hill has experience as a head coach, an offensive position coach, and a special teams coach. In fact, it’s very rare that you come across someone with his wide array of experiences. It seems like he’s a guy who will end up being a head coach again within a few years.

I always have reservations about coaches who come from “lower levels,” just like when Brady Hoke brought in a bunch of smaller conference coaches and when Rich Rodriguez brought everyone from West Virginia. There are two elite conferences in college football, and those are the SEC and the Big Ten. My hope was that Whittingham could poach an SEC/Big Ten defensive coordinator or land someone from the NFL, but the Hill hire was basically expected for the last week.

Which Coaches Should Michigan Keep?

With Michigan hiring Kyle Whittingham to replace the fired Sherrone Moore, the rest of the staff is in somewhat of an upheaval. Coaches typically bring in mostly their own guys, so that means the majority of Michigan’s staff members will be on the move.

Here’s a ranking of whom Michigan should keep:

1. Tony Alford (Running Backs Coach): Alford is an ace recruiter who has landed a few good running backs, including #1 overall back Savion Hiter in the 2026 class. His players have also been playing well on the field over the past couple seasons, like Justice Haynes, Jordan Marshall, and Kalel Mullings. Even Donovan Edwards improved somewhat from 2023 to 2024 after Alford was hired.
2. Grant Newsome (Offensive Line Coach): If it were up to me, I would take offensive line coach Grant Newsome and make him tight ends coach Grant Newsome. Michigan’s offensive line improved dramatically this season, but that was with the help of analyst Juan Castillo, who has since moved on to become Syracuse’s offensive line coach. I don’t really think Newsome is ready to be an elite offensive line coach, and Whittingham is reportedly bringing his own OL guy Jim Harding with him. This would keep Newsome on the staff with some of the elite recruits he has brought to Ann Arbor. Keep in mind that Newsome started off as the TE coach (2022-2023) when Sherrone Moore was coaching the line.
3. Lamar Morgan (Defensive Backs Coach): Morgan has turned into an excellent recruiter and has landed several star defensive backs, including Shamari Earls, Andre Clarke, Jordan Deck, Jayden Sanders, etc. I think losing Morgan might cause a bit of an exodus from the recruiting class and team, and I think his charges have played well enough to keep him around.
4. Ron Bellamy (Wide Receivers Coach): I think Bellamy has got a bad rap over the past couple seasons. Michigan hasn’t had much talent in the receiver room, but the talented players (Roman Wilson, Cornelius Johnson, Andrew Marsh, etc.) have played well. Bellamy also has connections in the state of Michigan and is a former Michigan and NFL player. I always think at least one or two holdovers should remain, especially a former Wolverine, because those guys know what it’s like to play in rivalry games and in Michigan Stadium. And that’s even more true with Whittingham being a foreigner at Michigan and likely bringing several coaches who will also be new to the area.
5. Lou Esposito (Defensive Line Coach): I like Esposito and he’s known as a good recruiter. His son is also committed to Michigan in the 2027 class, but I don’t necessarily think that’s a reason to keep Esposito on staff. Michigan obviously had great defensive tackle play in 2024 with Kenneth Grant, Mason Graham, and Rayshaun Benny, but there was nothing special about the DL group in 2025. Perhaps one of the biggest reasons to keep Espo is because he has an excellent defensive line class coming in 2026, particularly at defensive end.
6. Wink Martindale (Defensive Coordinator): I do not expect Martindale to stick around in 2026. His fate was basically sealed when Whittingham was hired, because Whittingham has his own defensive system and philosophy from his time as a long-time defensive coordinator himself. However, the quality of Martindale’s replacement could be a factor. If Whittingham can bring in his own guy, like BYU’s Jay Hill, then so be it. But you could do worse than Martindale, and perhaps the combination of a couple minds like Martindale and Whittingham could actually be beneficial.
7. Kerry Coombs (Special Teams Coach): Coombs was hired just before Moore was fired, so I don’t feel much allegiance to him. However, he has been known as a great recruiter and he has connections to Whittingham through Urban Meyer. Also, the guy was hired just a couple days before everything went crazy, so I think it would be pretty crappy of Michigan to kick him right back out of the building.
8. Brian Jean-Mary (Linebackers Coach): Jean-Mary has mostly been known as a solid recruiter, but this season really felt like the first year where his coaching was on point. I thought the linebacker unit played very well this season with Ernest Hausmann, Jimmy Rolder, Cole Sullivan, etc. However, I think Whittingham can find someone comparable who can bring some connection and familiarity with the head man.
9. Steve Casula (Tight Ends Coach): Casula has done a nice job with the tight ends, and he’s a good mind to have on staff since he has experience as an offensive coordinator. However, tight end is basically one of the easiest coaching jobs on the team, so I don’t think it would be difficult to find a comparable coach.
10. Chip Lindsey (Offensive Coordinator): Lindsey has already accepted a new job at Missouri.

Note that the above is MY list and MY reasoning. I don’t expect that Kyle Whittingham will read my blog post and adhere to it. I think if I were taking over, working hard to keep #1-3 on the list would be a priority, and then things would get flexible:

Keep Alford, Newsome, and Morgan in place, and then let the chips fall where they may; if Newsome isn’t a possibility, then work on keeping Bellamy to maintain that Michigan player connection.

Kyle Whittingham, Wolverine

Michigan has hired Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham to be the new head man for the Wolverines.

Whittingham is 66 years old and spent the last 21 seasons as head coach of the Utes, being the only head coach for the team since Urban Meyer left following the 2004 season to go to Florida. Whittingham was a linebacker for BYU and spent a handful of seasons in the NFL and USFL with the Rams, Broncos, Denver Gold, and New Orleans Breakers. He coached at BYU, Eastern Utah, Idaho State, and then Utah, and he has been in Salt Lake City since 1994 when he coached the defensive line. He would then go on to become defensive coordinator in 1995 and alternately coached safeties and linebackers until becoming head coach in 2005.

He amassed a 177-88 record with the Utes, surpassing the former wins record for Utah, held by Ike Armstrong, who had 141 wins from 1925-1949. Whittingham’s accolades include winning the Bobby Dodd Trophy, AFCA Coach of the Year, Mountain West Coach of the Year, and Pac-12 Coach of the Year (twice).

Whittingham is the son of former NFL linebacker Fred “Mad Dog” Whittingham, who played college ball at Cal Poly before embarking on a career with the with Rams, Eagles, Saints, and Patriots from 1963-1971. Fred then went on to coach at BYU and Utah, also spending time with the NFL’s Rams and Raiders.

Kyle Whittingham’s teams have been known for having a balanced offense and playing tough, physical, well coached defense. Urban Meyer thinks Whittingham is one of the top few coaches in college football, which may be a case of bias since Whittingham coached under Meyer. The Utes are currently #5 in scoring offense (41.4 points/game) and #17 in scoring defense (tied with Michigan at 18.7 points allowed/game).

For the 2025 season, starting quarterback Devon Dampier completed 63.7% of his passes for 2,180 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions while also running 127 times for 687 yards and 7 touchdowns. Running back Wayshawn Parker ran 133 times for 931 yards and 6 touchdowns. Meanwhile, defensive end John Henry Daley has 17.5 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks, and the defense as a whole has 14 interceptions returned for 364 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Overall, Whittingham is an excellent football coach with a clean track record. When it comes to performance on the field, there’s really not much concern. Some people point to his record, but we need to keep in mind that he was coaching at Utah, a place that doesn’t have all the resources of other schools like USC, Oregon, etc. The Utes were competing in the Pac-12 from 2011-2023, so even with a great coach, they were unlikely to stomp all over the rest of the league for that entire time. He still had eight seasons with 10+ victories, including a 13-0 season in 2008 and a 10-2 record in 2025.

My biggest concerns are these:

1. Kids don’t know Kyle Whittingham in the Midwest. Utah never recruited in Michigan or Ohio much, preferring to get their players from Utah, California, Texas, etc. The Utes have exactly two Michigan players on the roster, one a long snapper and another who came by way of Garden City Community College in Kansas. There’s only one player from Ohio, and he transferred from Oklahoma. The Wolverines are really going to need to go on a P.R. campaign to get Whittingham’s name out there and show what he’s done. Utah has produced four 1st round draft picks in Whittingham’s tenure, including DT Star Lotulelei, OT Garrett Bolles, LB Devin Lloyd, and TE Dalton Kincaid.
2. Whittingham is 66 years old. Only Bill Belichick (UNC, 73 years old), Kirk Ferentz (Iowa, 70), and K.C. Keeler (Temple, 66) are older. I get that some of Michigan’s best years have been under old white guys (Lloyd Carr, Jim Harbaugh, etc.), but I don’t think Whittingham brings a ton of juice on the recruiting trail except for the fact that he’ll be wearing a block M on his chest. There are ways to mitigate that with putting good recruiters on the trail, but there’s no fixing Whittingham’s age or the fact that he’s probably not going to be much of a long-term solution. I was hoping Michigan could land a coach who was 50-ish and who could legitimately spend a decade with the program, but most coaches are out of the game by the age of 70, so Whittingham has maybe three or four years until he’s gone. (Even though he signed a 5-year contract, everyone knows you either retire early, get fired early, or you sign an extension. Whittingham isn’t going to stay for five years and then ride into the sunset.)

We’ll see how things play out. I will obviously support Michigan and Whittingham for the duration of his career in Ann Arbor, but I’m slightly disappointed that Wolverines fans will be almost guaranteed to be doing this coaching search in just a few years.

Coach Hot Board 2.0

1. Jeff Brohm (Head Coach, Louisville): Brohm is 94-56 overall as a head coach, which feels like a high number of wins for a guy who’s 54. He has been head coach at Western Kentucky, Purdue, and now his alma mater, Louisville. Brohm is known for gutsy calls and fun play designs, but regardless of where he’s been, he seems to find a way to lose four games per year. In fact, in twelve seasons as a head coach, five of them have ended with four losses. Brohm played quarterback at Louisville, so he may not be willing to abandon his alma mater. I don’t think the culture shock would be as high as it was for Rich Rodriguez when he came to Michigan, but the backlash from Louisville could be similar to when Rodriguez left WVU to head to Ann Arbor.
2. Kyle Whittingham (Unemployed): Whittingham has been rumored to be an option for Michigan the last couple times the job has opened, but nothing ever materialized. Whittingham attended BYU and played some linebacker in the NFL before spending his entire coaching career in Idaho and Utah. He had been the head coach for the Utes ever since Urban Meyer left Utah for Florida, and he was defensive coordinator for Utah for ten years prior to that. Meyer (who’s a good football coach but a questionable human) said Whittingham is a top-five coach in college football. My contention is that if Whittingham had the juice to be a head coach, he should be doing it at Utah – where he was 10-2 this season – instead of somewhere else. How much gas is left in the tank for a guy who’s 66 years old and has never worked anywhere east of the Rocky Mountains?
3. Jesse Minter (Defensive Coordinator, Los Angeles Chargers): Minter is a former Michigan defensive coordinator (2022-2023) who helped Michigan earn a national championship in 2023 before heading to the Chargers with Jim Harbaugh. There’s really no doubt that he could put together an elite defense, but he has no head coaching experience. One thing I like about Minter is that he’s a football lifer, someone who grew up as the son of former Cincinnati head coach Rick Minter. It’s kind of like my affinity for players who used to play quarterback; there’s a certain baseline of competence and intelligence. Minter might be able to be an NFL head coach next year, so perhaps coming back to college and dealing with all the recruiting and such year-round isn’t his ideal.
4. Biff Poggi (Interim Head Coach, Michigan): Poggi was a key component of Jim Harbaugh’s staff, coming in as somewhat of a consultant. He then left to become head coach at Charlotte, where he was doomed to fail and did. This year he came back to try to help Sherrone Moore, which . . . well, you know. Poggi reportedly has been telling people that he wants the head job at Michigan, but wanting it and getting it are two different things. I don’t think a serious program can give Poggi a head coaching job at this point. He seems like a great dude and went 2-0 as Moore’s replacement to start the 2025 season, but it would be the gamble of all gambles.