It’s been a whirlwind two weeks for the University of Utah after Kyle Whittingham stepped down as head coach.
After stepping down at Utah, the 66-year-old Whittingham continued to keep his options open, and on Friday, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Whittingham has agreed to a five-year deal to become the head coach at Michigan.
Whittingham’s decision to take the Michigan job could have a ripple effect throughout college football in the state of Utah.
With the transfer portal opening on Jan. 2, Whittingham will have to assemble his staff at Michigan quickly.
While Whittingham’s search for assistants will no doubt have a national reach, the former Utah coach has a notable coaching tree, and he could lean on his former assistant coaches while building a staff in Ann Arbor.
Here are three notable names from Utah schools that Whittingham could potentially target while assembling a coaching staff.
Jason Beck, Utah offensive coordinator
Whittingham is expected to target offensive coordinator Jason Beck for the same job at Michigan, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz.
Beck turned around Utah’s offense in just one season, engineering the best year-to-year offensive improvement at Utah since at least 1996, according to the school.
Led by mostly backup quarterbacks in 2024, Utah’s offense struggled, scoring 23.6 points per game (No. 102 in the nation) and totaling just 329.8 yards per game on offense (No. 115 in the nation).
Beck, who was New Mexico’s offensive coordinator in 2024, brought quarterback Devon Dampier and receiver Ryan Davis from Albuquerque, and added running back Wayshawn Parker. Those new players, led by a veteran offensive line, injected much-needed life into Utah’s offense.
Beck’s RPO-heavy scheme was run well by Dampier, and Utah’s offense scored 40.9 points per game (No. 5 in the nation) and rushed for 269.8 yards per game (No. 2 in the nation).
Beck engineered one of the most successful offenses in the Whittingham era, so it would make sense that Whittingham would want continuity in Michigan, instead of starting fresh with a new offensive coordinator.
Jim Harding, Utah offensive line
One of Whittingham’s first calls to his old staff at Utah would have to be to offensive line coach Jim Harding.
Harding has been one of the top offensive line coaches in the nation during his time at Utah and did his best coaching job this season.
With a veteran group of returning starters, including tackles Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu, Utah had one of the best offensive lines in the nation.
The Utes’ front five powered Utah to 3,237 rushing yards, just 27 yards off of breaking the school rushing record of 3,263, set in 1984.
Fano and Lomu are both potential first-round picks in this year’s NFL draft, with Fano considered the best offensive tackle available.
This summer, Harding landed a commitment from offensive tackle Kelvin Obot, who is Utah’s first-ever 247Sports composite five-star.
Harding’s ability to recruit and develop talent on the offensive line has made him one of the country’s best position coaches and an attractive target for Whittingham’s staff at Michigan.
Jay Hill, BYU defensive coordinator
Jay Hill coached under Whittingham from 2005-2013 in various positions, including as Utah’s cornerbacks coach.
Hill left Utah in 2014 to become Weber State’s head coach, and in nine season in Ogden, Hill led the Wildcats to six playoff appearances.
Following the 2022 season, Hill became Kalani Sitake’s defensive coordinator at BYU and turned around the Cougars’ defense.
Under Hill’s watch, BYU went from No. 96 in points allowed in 2022 (29.5 points per game) to No. 18 in 2024 (19.6 points per game) and No. 21 in 2025 (19 points per game).
With Whittingham’s connection to Hill, the current BYU defensive coordinator could be one of the top targets to call the Wolverines’ defense.
