TTUN is celebrating the Kyle Whittingham hire as a home run. Given what led them to enter the coaching sweepstakes in the first place, it probably was as good as the Wolverines were going to get. Kenny Dillingham publicly denied interest in the job, and Kalen DeBoer's Alabama Crimson Tide prolonged his time in Tuscaloosa by defeating the Oklahoma Sooners in the College Football Playoff's first round.
Whittingham was all that was left. Truthfully, TTUN failed upwards into a longtime Big 12 head coach who had spent decades in his seat, was forced to leave, but had significantly more momentum after not going out with consecutive disappointing seasons as the Oklahoma State Cowboys' Mike Gundy did. It was a perfect accident. In some sense.
Certainly, it's not perfect in that the Wolverines are all of a sudden competition for the Ohio State Buckeyes. They're not. They're not even close, quite frankly.
As Ohio State Buckeyes On SI's Nick Pedone notes, Whittingham is merely a transitional coach for TTUN. Not the next Jim Harbaugh.
"Whittingham is a nice hire for Michigan. With limited resources, Utah has been a respectable program," Pedone prefaced before saying, "But let’s be honest about this. He just turned 66. He was rumored to have toyed with the idea of retirement. This likely is not the coach that leads Michigan back to a title. But instead, the coach that rids their program of controversy and toxicity."
"The culture surrounding Michigan seems busted. Recruits are hopping into the portal. Whittingham will be tasked with the mess left behind from Jim Harbaugh and Moore’s departures."
"Meanwhile, the Buckeyes are as strong as they have ever been. When the team lost to Michigan for four straight seasons, pressure was mounting on Day. According to reports, the Ohio State head coach considered walking away from the job if he wasn’t fired following the loss to the Wolverines. But the Buckeyes rallied, won a title and have not looked back since."
Kyle Whittingham is the best desperation hire TTUN could've made
You do have to give TTUN credit. The Wolverines made the best desperation hire possible, given the hard 16 they were dealt. Especially after the very viral and ugly Sherrone Moore situation.
The Wolverines needed to make, more than anything, a respectable hire. Whittingham is a scandal-less man, unlike his scandalous predecessors.
Something OSU fans can appreciate: Whittingham was once Urban Meyer's successor with the Utah Utes, though the infrastructure in the Pac-12 and Big 12 never lent a situation with enough resources to win big.
TTUN has that with Larry Ellison. Whether a 66-year-old coach can make the most of the Oracle CTO's investments is the biggest question the Wolverines must answer.
It just feels like TTUN is too far behind the Buckeyes right now to do it while Whittingham is still around.