When the Michigan Wolverines fired Sherrone Moore it truly shocked college football for several reasons. For starters, the timing of Sherrone Moore's firing shocked everyone, but once the reasoning for the firing made the timeline make sense. When you take into account the fact that almost every good head coach either took a new gig or signed an extension, Michigan was put in almost an impossible place.
Early on, Michigan was tied to the likes of Kenny Dillingham and Kalen DeBoer, but Dillingham signed an extension at Arizona State while Alabama is still in the College Football Playoff making hiring DeBoer unrealistic.
After the top group of candidates another list emerged with the likes of Jedd Fisch, Jeff Brohm, and Todd Monken. Everything seemingly changed in Michigan's coach search when Kyle Whittingham announced that he was still open to coaching, and that he wasn't retiring.
Kyle Whittingham is the biggest upgrade possible from Sherrone Moore
While the fanbase would've rallied behind him before the scandal, Michigan fans knew that Sherrone Moore wasn't a long-term plan. Moore was clearly in over his head in the role, but Michigan had to give him the job after what he was able to do with the team when he was the interim head coach.
On Friday, Michigan and Kyle Whittingham are finalizing a deal to make him the next head coach of the Wolverines.
Kyle Whittingham and Michigan are expected to finalize a deal today, per @DanWetzel.
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) December 26, 2025
If the sides agree to terms, a decision on whether Whittingham would coach Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl on Wednesday would follow. pic.twitter.com/wqPtmw02SE
The Wolverines instead land one of the best coaches in the sport in a complete wild set of circumstances. Whittingham stepped down at Utah seemingly retiring while allowing Morgan Scalley to finally take over. Then Michigan needed a head coach, and Whittingham was there for the taking allowing them to land an elite head coach when he likely wouldn't have left Utah for another job.
During his time at Utah, Kyle Whittingham constantly had great teams, and rosters that no one wanted to play against. Giving Whittingham all of the resources Michigan has and asking him to replicate the process should result in the Wolverines getting right back into contention for Big Ten and National Championships.
Whether Kyle Whittingham works out or not won't be answered for several seasons, but this is a massive win for the Wolverines. The team has instantly replaced a coach that few believed in with one of the Nation's best, and they did so on one of the toughest timelines which deserves a ton of credit.