Tag: coaching changes

Freddie Whittingham, Wolverine

Kyle Whittingham has hired his brother Freddie to coach the tight ends. There will be a lot of family dinners with Kyle, Freddie, and Kyle’s son Alex all on the staff.

Freddie was a starting running back for BYU back in the 1980s and started in the same backfield as Ty Detmer, the uncle of new quarterbacks coach Koy Detmer, Jr. Whittingham ran 351 times for 1,580 yards and 14 touchdowns in his career, adding 97 catches for 1,015 yards and 5 touchdowns through the air.

Freddie was the director of player personnel at Utah from 2012-2015 before becoming the tight ends coach in 2016, a position he held through this past season. He was also Utah’s recruiting coordinator. Among his charges at tight end was 1st round pick Dalton Kincaid, now a Buffalo Bill who has 1,692 yards and 9 touchdowns in his three-year NFL career.

Utah tight end Dallen Bentley was Utah’s #2 receiver this past season (48 catches, 620 yards, 6 TD), and in five of the past six seasons, Utah has had a tight end finish as the #1 or #2 receiver on the team.

While Freddie’s role might change coming to Michigan and his recruiting responsibilities might be a little more limited, he should be a solid recruiter and position coach for the Wolverines. I maintain that tight end is the easiest position to coach on the team and that’s where staffs often stash good recruiters who don’t have a ton of X’s and O’s responsibilities, so it’s good to know that he can bring some added value as a recruiter and program guy.

Koy Detmer, Jr., Wolverine

Koy Detmer, Jr. has been hired as Michigan’s quarterbacks coach under Kyle Whittingham.

Detmer is the son of former Colorado and NFL quarterback Koy Detmer and the nephew of former BYU Heisman-winning quarterback Ty Detmer. Koy, Jr. played at BYU and Texas A&M-Kingsville, where he was a record-setting quarterback (records set: 37 completions and 65 attempts in one game) and once threw for 450 yards in a game. Koy, Sr. is now a high school head coach at Somerset (TX) Somerset.

Detmer the Younger became a running backs coach at Texas A&M-Kingsville in 2020-2021 and then moved on to Syracuse as a graduate assistant in 2022-2023. He followed offensive coordinator Jason Beck from Syracuse to New Mexico in 2024 and then to Utah in 2025.

I know some people have wanted a big name as a QB coach for Michigan, but if we’re being honest, most “big names” who work with quarterbacks are going to be offensive coordinators or passing game coordinator and not just QB coaches. Detmer is an up-and-comer who has worked with high-powered offenses and who has a couple former NFL quarterbacks in the family, so just on its surface, this seems to be a pretty solid hire. And as far as names go, there really aren’t many bigger family names than “Detmer” in the quarterback world.

Jim Harding, Wolverine

Kyle Whittingham is bringing Utah’s offensive line coach, Jim Harding, with him from Salt Lake City. Reports broke on New Year’s Day that Harding is headed to Ann Arbor to coach the Wolverines’ offensive line and retain his assistant head coach title.

Harding, who is from Maumee, OH, was a four-year starting offensive tackle at Toledo (1997-2000), setting a school record with 46 consecutive starts and earning first-team All-MAC honors as a senior captain on a 10-1 Rockets team. Early in his coaching career, he spent four seasons (2005-08) at Troy High School in Michigan, serving as defensive coordinator before becoming head coach. He moved on to Wyoming as a co-offensive line coach, then the offensive line coach, and finally the offensive coordinator before moving on to Utah as the offensive line coach in 2014.

Over the last twelve seasons as the Utes’ offensive line coach (adding assistant head coach duties in 2017), he’s built one of the most consistent units in college football:

• Nation-leading 12 first-team all-conference offensive linemen since 2015
• Seven NFL Draft picks, including 1st rounder Garett Bolles (Denver Broncos)
• Projected 1st rounders in the 2026 draft: Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu
• Blocked for a 1,000-yard rusher in 11 of the last 12 years (2025 was the lone exception, with Wayshawn Parker finishing at 981 yards)

Harding is widely regarded as one of the top position coaches in the country. Bringing that recruiting prowess to the Midwest – where he already has ties – could be huge for developing Michigan’s talented young players.

Utah has done well on the recruiting trail over the years, landing several players Michigan wanted, such as Fano, Lomu, Jackson Barton, Lander Barton, and Kelvin Obot. Furthermore, the players have been developed. Watching Utah over the last several years, even before Whittingham was a candidate for Michigan, I’ve been impressed by Utah’s offensive line, especially taking into account how stiff some of Utah’s players are. If Michigan can consistently recruit talented players and pair that with Harding’s development, it should be an excellent unit moving forward.

Jason Beck, Wolverine

Thanks to David and Roy for the recent Paypal donations! You guys are awesome!

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.