By Jacob Lev, CNN
(CNN) — After a long, tenuous last few weeks for the University of Michigan, the football program appears to have found a new head coach to lead them into a new era – Kyle Whittingham.
The 66-year-old Whittingham was named the Wolverines’ 22nd coach in program history on Friday, signing a five-year deal and replacing Sherrone Moore following his termination and subsequent arrest earlier this month.
Whittingham spent the last 21 years at the helm for the University of Utah Utes football program before announcing he was stepping down following the team’s appearance in the Las Vegas Bowl against Nebraska on December 31.
Longtime Utes defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley will take over as head coach after being named team’s coach-in-waiting last year.
Michigan, who is in need of an experienced head coach after Jim Harbaugh bolted the school for the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers following the 2023 season, are getting one in Whittingham.
Whittingham went 177-88 at Utah after taking over in 2004 and led the Utes to at least 10 wins in eight of his seasons as coach. The No. 15 ranked squad finished the regular season 10-2 this year.
“We are honored to lead the outstanding student-athletes, coaches, and staff who represent Michigan Football each day,” Whittingham said in a statement Friday. “Michigan is synonymous with tradition and excellence – both on the field and beyond – and our entire program is committed to upholding those values while striving for greatness together. My family and I are thrilled to join the University of Michigan community, and we look forward to helping our players grow, develop, and reach their highest potential – on the gridiron, in the classroom, and as leaders. It’s a privilege to be part of something that inspires pride in every Wolverine fan. Go Blue!”
A potential closing of a shaky chapter
The hiring of Whittingham could bring some much-needed stability to the Michigan football program.
Since winning the national championship in January 2024, the Wolverines have been in utter dismay.
After an uneven 2024 campaign, which featured an impressive win over eventual national champion Ohio State and a bowl win against Alabama in an otherwise disappointing 8-5 season, the NCAA handed the football program a multi-million-dollar penalty and Moore was given an additional suspension as part of a sign-sealing scandal involving former Michigan football staffer Connor Stalions.
Stalions, who worked as a member of Harbaugh’s staff, was levied with an 8-year show-cause order, restricting him from all athletically related activities during that period.
Harbaugh was also given a 10-year show-cause order in the sign-stealing case. That punishment would begin on August 7, 2028, after a separate 4-year show-cause order ends from a separate recruiting case that the NCAA closed last year.
More than a year later, Moore now faces charges of a felony count of home invasion and multiple misdemeanors related to his arrest on earlier this month, just hours after he was dismissed by Michigan.
Moore was charged with third-degree home invasion, which is a felony. He was also charged with one count of misdemeanor stalking and one count of misdemeanor breaking and entering/illegal entry without permission, according to the criminal complaint.
At the time, the university said in a statement that a school investigation revealed “credible evidence” that Moore was “engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.” The sudden announcement stated Moore, who is married and has three daughters, was terminated immediately and with cause.
Moore had become the Wolverines’ head coach in 2024, taking over from Jim Harbaugh after spending six years on the offensive staff. He was the first Black head coach in program history.
Moore led the Wolverines to a 9-3 record this season. The Wolverines are scheduled to face the University of Texas in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Eve under interim head coach Biff Poggi.
Experience is a virtue
This will be the first job Whittingham has held east of the Rocky Mountains as he spent a majority of his football career in the state of Utah.
Whittingham played college football at Brigham Young University under LaVell Edwards as a linebacker and became a graduate assistant in Provo, Utah, during the 1984-1985 season.
He then coached at Eastern Utah and Idaho State for seven years before becoming Utah’s defensive line coach in 1994 and eventually the Utes’ defensive coordinator in 1995. Whittingham was elevated to head coach in 2004 after Urban Meyer left Salt Lake City to go to the University of Florida.
At Utah, Whittingham led the Utes to 18 winning seasons, three conference titles, two Rose Bowl appearances, and was the second longest tenured head coach in college football behind Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz.
He also won three national coach of the year awards and led Utah to a perfect season in 2008.
Warde Manuel, the school’s athletic director, called Whittingham a “leader of exceptional character and principled leadership.
“Throughout our search, he consistently demonstrated the qualities we value at Michigan: vision, resilience, and the ability to build and sustain championship-caliber teams,” Manuel added. “Kyle brings not only a proven track record of success, but also a commitment to creating a program rooted in toughness, physicality, discipline and respect – where student-athletes and coaches represent the university with distinction both on and off the field.
Whittingham is scheduled to make his Big House debut on September 5 when the Wolverines host Western Michigan.
CNN’s Kyle Feldscher, Ben Morse, Jill Martin, and David Close contributed to this reporting
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