Michigan's Kyle Whittingham aiming to 'put the drama to bed,' bring stability after lack of accountability hampered program

CHICAGO — Kyle Whittingham is a tone-setter. At Michigan, he also has to be a stain remover. The 66-year-old former Utah frontman is tasked with ameliorating a program tainted by scandal.

Whittingham was hired by Warde Manuel, an athletic director who's now stepping down at the end of the calendar year after being implicated in an internal investigation "into the circumstances surrounding the conduct" of fired Wolverines football head coach Sherrone Moore. Manuel, according to an FAQ the school put out earlier this month about the investigation and its corresponding culture review, demonstrated "failures to quickly and effectively act on allegations of wrongdoing by Athletic Department employees."

Moore, notably, was arrested by police and fired by Michigan in December for what the university described as an "inappropriate relationship" with a staff member. He faced a collection of charges, including a charge of felony home invasion, although he dodged jail time by reaching a plea deal earlier this year.

The nefarious web extends further, of course, as Moore's two-season stint at the helm began when he officially took over for Jim Harbaugh, who was in charge of the Wolverines when they were marred by their infamous sign-stealing scheme. That ploy resulted in some casting a perverse shadow over the national title Michigan won during the 2023 season. Even before that saga began, Harbaugh got caught up in recruiting violations at Michigan.

For years, Wolverines players have found themselves in a vacuum of controversy and uncertainty. Whittingham, after a 21-season tenure piloting the Utes, yearns to bring stability to Ann Arbor.

"They're hungry," he said of his team Thursday during his opening statement at Big Ten media days.

He added at the podium, with a drove of reporters keenly watching: "They've been through a lot the last four or five years, but hopefully we can put the drama to bed and just get back to being student-athletes and having a great college experience."

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A new chapter in Ann Arbor with an old-school coach

Whittingham set the bar for Year 1 success when addressing media at Hilton Chicago.

"I can't predict how good we can be or where we'll end up," he said, "but I can say that if we're playing meaningful games in November, then that's probably for us a successful season and a chance to have something to build on."

That could mean Michigan takes on the mold of a College Football Playoff team, Whittingham clarified later in the day; however, he tempered expectations, noting that the Wolverines are a work-in-progress in the depth department and are adapting to a new scheme and culture.

That second part seems to already be taking hold. Junior running back Jordan Marshall illustrated the scene of an early team meeting Whittingham held.

"He basically was like, 'You're allowed to be upset, mad, whatever you want about the situation, but it's over now. And there's a new chapter,'" recounted Marshall, who mounted 932 rushing yards, averaging 6.2 per carry, to go along with his 10 scores last season.

"It was harder for some people than others, but you get past it."

That transition has progressed partly because of how infectious Whittingham's accountability has proven to be. Marshall emphasized, in particular, how punctual Whittingham is.

"When you see your coach doing it, you're going to follow right up behind him and do the same thing," Marshall said. "I remember people were rolling in a minute right before we had a meeting, and Coach Whitt was like, 'That's not how we're going to roll. Five minutes before every meeting, you guys are here on time.'

"And from then, everybody's five minutes early. That's on time. You got to be on time everywhere. You could miss something. And we like to start early. So that's just showing accountability through him."

Senior defensive tackle Trey Pierce, a team captain like Marshall, said more of the same, pointing to how Whittingham has ushered in a much-needed degree of discipline.

"The accountability factor is something that the coaches have brought in, but also it's on us as players to keep each other accountable," Pierce said. "We were missing that last year."

That's changed, the 6-foot-2, 310-pound interior D-lineman conveyed Thursday. Players are no longer waiting for the coaching staff to correct them, Pierce said.

"Even when there's something bad going on, you got to step up and say something to them," Marshall said. "And I hope Trey would say the same thing to me. If I do something wrong, he needs to tell me."

Structure was at the core of Whittingham's Utah operation. He took a page out of Urban Meyer's book in that regard. Whittingham co-coached the Utes to a Fiesta Bowl victory at the end of the 2004 season before becoming Meyer's full-time successor. Meyer then embarked on a run at Florida that featured two of the three national championships he won as a head coach.

"Players, in my opinion, thrive on structure and discipline," Whittingham said. "They like to have a routine. They like to be held accountable. They like to be treated consistently. And that's what we do every single day. I can't speak for what happened last year because I don't know, but I know that the players have really taken ownership of this team as well."

Whittingham said, when he arrived on campus, he was "pleasantly surprised" by the players' yearn to improve. That said, he soon realized they had a long way to go, especially in terms of physicality.

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A 'glaring' realization in the weight room and the rewiring of a young QB

Not long after Whittingham took the reins at Michigan, his staff tested the players' strength. It wasn't up to par — or at least not to the standard he established at Utah. Whittingham brought with him strength and conditioning expert and director of sports performance Doug Elisaia. Together, Elisaia and Whittingham forged a litany of tough Utes squads that were renowned for their brawn, among other things.

Whittingham called the initial results "glaring."

"Well, you evaluate it by testing them," he said. "You just put them on the bench press and see what they can do. Squat, see what they can do. And so it was very apparent by the numbers, they paled in comparison to the place we came from.

Whittingham continued: "And so when [Doug] got the numbers, he came up to my office says, 'Coach, you're not going to like this.' We talked for a while, and I said, 'Doug, I got no question in my mind you'll get it right.' The players bought into what Doug was selling. And as soon as they started seeing the strength gains and their body weight go up and lean body mass — as soon as the players know that you can help them be a better player, you'll get buy-in."

Whittingham touted that at least 97% of the Wolverines achieved personal bests when Michigan tested again last week.

That's not the only way Whittingham, coming off his eighth 10-plus-win campaign, has had to go back to the drawing board with his new team. He and his staff have essentially had to overhaul the fundamentals of sophomore quarterback Bryce Underwood, the Rivals industry ranking's No. 1 overall prospect in the 2025 recruiting class.

"You watch the tape from last year and Bryce was running for his life quite often," Whittingham said.

Meanwhile, the 6-foot-4, 228-pound dual threat recorded double-digit carries in just one game last season. He completed a mere 60.3% of his passes and threw 11 touchdowns against nine picks. An in-state standout who became a household name at Belleville High School, Underwood has possessed all the tools but, even after last season, was still raw.

Whittingham said Underwood's cleaned up his footwork. Additionally, he's been working on his read progressions and pocket presence.

"Quite honestly, Bryce hasn't been coached since he left high school," Marshall said, referring to the fact that Underwood didn't have a dedicated QB coach last season under Moore.

"He's been coached but not had a guy there by his side helping him that has seen good quarterback play."

This time around, he's being developed by offensive coordinator Jason Beck and quarterbacks coach Koy Detmer. Whittingham said they want to get Underwood on the move, both as a passer and as a runner, similar to how Devon Dampier played for Utah in 2025.

Shoring up the offensive line is a priority. Jim Harding, another staple of Whittingham's Utah staffs, is responsible for orchestrating that turnaround. Underwood, though, will have to trust the results.

'Michigan has a lot to prove'

Despite all of its dysfunction, Michigan won nine games in 2025.

"Still winning nine games under the circumstances really speaks to who they are as young men and their character and their ability to focus and handle adversity," Whittingham said.

Even so, Marshall made it clear that the expectations are so much higher.

"Michigan has a lot to prove," he said before adding that "9-3 is not the standard."

Marshall went on: "It's to win a national championship, beat all your rivals and win the Big Ten, and we haven't accomplished that. I think we have the opportunity to do something great this year. A lot of people might say, 'Oh, you guys are young. Oh, you guys are still figuring stuff out.' We don't have time to waste at Michigan. You don't have that with the fan base. You don't have that with the coaching staff.

"It's now or never. That's how you attack the season is, it's right now. And why not Michigan? I remember people saying that all the time to me, 'Why not Michigan?' And that's what I truly believe, that we have a really good team, really good staff, so why can't we do it?"

Marshall returned to Michigan to help return the program to prominence. The Wolverines have to do more than winning to ditch the stench of their problematic recent history.

Stability is a start. Eliminating distractions and drama is part of the equation. Whittingham knows he's responsible for all of that.

Whittingham once said he wouldn't coach past the age of 65. He laments that comment. When he stepped down from his post at Utah, there was a select number of schools that could have drawn him back into the ranks. Michigan was key among the group.

He characterized the offer from Manuel to lead the Wolverines as a "no-brainer." He willingly accepted the challenge to unscramble the Michigan mess. He believes in a speedy resolution.

"Well, I think it can change pretty quickly and especially when the drama's not player-driven," Whittingham said of program perception. "The drama was not player-driven. The players are doing what they're supposed to do. They're doing the things that they were recruited to do. … Unfortunately, the drama came from the adults. So how can you hold the players — I mean, they can't be held accountable for that. In a lot of ways, they can be commended for how they handled it.

"I believe we can put that aside and in the rearview mirror rather quickly. We already have to a certain extent. The only way to do it is just keep proving it every day that you're just doing the right things, you're not creating controversy and having distractions and just taking care of your business the right way."

In other words, accountability is the formula. Once lacking in Schembechler Hall, it's seemingly become the lifeblood of a recovering Michigan program.