On Dec. 10, the University of Michigan unexpectedly fired head football coach Sherrone Moore for cause “after a university investigation that found ‘credible evidence’ he was engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member,” ESPN reported.
Two days later, Kyle Whittingham stepped down as head football coach at the University of Utah after 21 seasons. Many assumed that Whittingham was going to retire, but The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel first reported that day that Whittingham “is not retiring, and could seek other coaching opportunities.”
Almost immediately, many began to connect the dots that Whittingham could be a candidate to replace Moore, although several others were considered higher in the pecking order.
But as the last week and a half has unfolded, a number of things have happened that have now made Whittingham go from a potential candidate to a favorite to land the job, according to prediction markets.
Of particular note, Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham reached a contract extension with the school, removing his name from the running, and Alabama beat Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff, meaning Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer has a CFP game to coach on Jan. 1.
Washington coach Jedd Fisch, Louisville coach Jeff Brohm, Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz, Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter and a handful of others have been bandied about as potential candidates — as has Michigan interim coach Biff Poggi.
On Saturday after Alabama won, ESPN’s Dan Wetzel wrote on X, “Based on everything I’ve heard, and with the caveat that things can always change quickly, I wouldn’t expect the Michigan coaching search to be resolved any time soon,” which led many to wonder if Michigan wants to try to wait out DeBoer’s CFP run and try to pry him from Alabama when its season is over.
However, on Monday Poggi seemed to give an indication to media that the search could be wrapped up between Christmas Day and Dec. 31 when Michigan plays Texas in the Citrus Bowl.
Perhaps more revealing, on Monday FootballScoop’s Zach Barnett reported that “the U-M board is fractured at this time on how to move forward with the search.”
Barnett went on to write that “One faction, sources said, wants a clean break from Michigan’s recent past and prefers a respected outsider like former Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham. ... Whittingham is among the most revered leaders in college football — and, certainly, the most respected free-agent candidate available, with the transfer portal set to open in less than two weeks.”
However, Barnett also reported that “another faction” at Michigan wants Minter, who was Michigan’s defensive coordinator from 2022-23. Still another third faction, Barnett reported, wants to find someone else.
For his part, Whittingham told media in Salt Lake City last week regarding taking another job, “If my phone rings, I answer it, I like who’s calling? Then we’ll see.”