Kyle Whittingham was the guy TTUN felt it had to hire in the spot they were in this past offseason. A little bit of patience probably could've had Kalen DeBoer on the table, but the Wolverines panicked. They hired someone who won't have a long-term stay in Ann Arbor, but who can get the team in a position to win 10 games every year with the amount of talent walking through the door.
As Cleveland.com's Andrew Gillis noted, DeBoer could've been someone who lasted beyond five years, but TTUN didn't have the patience to wait until the end of the 2025/2026 College Football Playoff. DeBoer's Alabama Crimson Tide were destroyed 38-3 in the Rose Bowl by the Indiana Hoosiers, which prompted the Bama fanbase to call for his firing.
"DeBoer would have been better. Like, do you guys think this was probably as good as it was going to get, considering everything that had happened? Because we can talk about Kyle Whittingham. He's is an older coach. Like this is not a potential 15-, or 20-year hire for (TTUN), right?
Like this is, you know, I think someone where you’re probably looking at maybe five years, but I think for (TTUN), that was probably best case scenario. No, like you get somebody for five years, steady the waters, steady the ship," Gillis said on the latest episode of Buckeye Talk.
Kyle Whittingham may forever underwhelm with TTUN
After Whittingham left the Utah Utes following 21 years, he took TTUN's head coaching job because desperation created necessity, which facilitated a financial paydirt and an opportunity to be immortal. It wasn't the flashiest hire for the Maize and Blue, though.
Perhaps the Wolverines should've gone for some flash with this hiring, since goodwill is low in the wake of the Sherrone Moore scandal.
There's nothing wrong with Whittingham. He's a good coach who made Utah relevant for years. The Utes simply couldn't elevate above relevant. TTUN has a championship reputation to live up to. The Wolverines need a guy who will win by any means necessary. TTUN needs someone who believes that if you're not cheating, you're not trying.
Whittingham isn't that. He's by the book. The scandals will be scarce, if non-existent, but the trophy case probably won't expand beyond maybe a CFP win or two in an expanded field.