Michigan’s coaching situation may be headed for another reset, and this time the rumors are swirling around Ann Arbor.
According to a CBS report, there’s talk behind the scenes that Kyle Whittingham could be fired as soon as this offseason. The report points to Warde Manuel being on his way out and says Whittingham was viewed as a “bridge hire” from the start, never really intended to be Michigan’s long-term answer.
That kind of chatter is showing up for a reason. Michigan is 4-3, and while the record has enough wiggle room to look a little better with a couple of swings breaking the other way, it has also been messy enough to fuel real frustration. The Wolverines have already hit the point where Whittingham has benched his former five-star, multi-million dollar quarterback in favor of a freshman, and the offense has apparently slid to “too far gone” levels of incompetence.
Whittingham has drawn plenty of criticism for the way he’s handled the team this season, especially for standing by his offensive coordinator, whom Michigan fans have ripped as a disaster. The feeling in Ann Arbor is apparently sour enough that people are already talking about moving on after only one year.
It’s a strange place for the rivalry to be, because the Michigan-Michigan State matchup has already lost a lot of its edge. Part of that is Michigan State’s struggles, but part of it has also been the churn on both sidelines.
Michigan went from a national title under Jim Harbaugh to Sherrone Moore, who crashed and burned in public fashion, and then to Whittingham. There also hasn’t been enough hostility from the last two coaches toward Michigan State, especially Whittingham, who has been avoiding the word “hate” when talking about rivals.
East Lansing has had its own coaching carousel, too. Pat Fitzgerald is the latest in a string of changes for the Spartans, after Mel Tucker, who went 2-1 vs.
Michigan, gave way to Jonathan Smith for a couple of years. Since Mark Dantonio retired, Michigan State has gone through three coaches, and that instability has been a major reason the rivalry has felt so stale.
The difference now is that Fitzgerald feels like the guy who can bring it back, while Michigan may already be staring at its third head coach since Harbaugh left. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
In Other News...
Michigan State Just Got A New Reason To Circle Oregon
Oregons midseason shakeup adds another layer to a matchup Michigan State already had circled. Dan Lanning moved on from his offensive coordinator after the loss to Illinois, and the Ducks have now turned to former Spartans coordinator Jay Johnson in that role on a temporary basis. For Michigan State, it is the kind of storyline that makes a late-season trip a little more personal, because the staff on the other sideline now includes a familiar face from East Lansing.
The timing matters, too, because Oregon is trying to steady itself after a rough stretch that has included three losses and the season-ending injury to quarterback Dante Moore. Johnson stepping in gives the Ducks a different look offensively at a moment when they need answers fast, and Michigan State will get a chance to see how that transition settles in before it plays out on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Is Finally Making A Serious Push To Rebuild Fast
Pat Fitzgeralds first season in East Lansing has not delivered the kind of on-field turnaround Michigan State was hoping for, but the bigger picture around the program may be starting to move in a much more ambitious direction. New athletic director Dan Bartholomae has already signaled that he wants the Spartans to spend at a level that can keep them among the Big Tens financial heavyweights, a clear acknowledgment that roster building now matters as much as any coaching change.
According to a report by Justin Spiro, that shift could show up in a major way this offseason, with Michigan State planning to spend in the high-$30 million range on its football roster. If that number holds, the Spartans would be putting themselves in the top five for Big Ten spending, a sign that the school is trying to speed up its rebuild rather than wait for it to happen gradually. The question now is whether that investment can translate into the kind of immediate competitive jump the program has been searching for. [Read more 🡒]
Jack Velling Reignites A Familiar Michigan State What-Might-Have Debate
Jack Vellings NFL path has already taken a familiar turn for Michigan State fans who remember the promise and the inconsistency from his two seasons in East Lansing. The undrafted rookie tight end landed with the Falcons after the preseason, only to be released, leaving him back in the market for another practice-squad opportunity as he tries to keep his pro career moving.
For Spartans followers, Velling is one of those players who naturally triggers the what-might-have-been conversation. His college stint offered flashes without fully settling into the kind of breakout run that changes a programs view of a player, and now his next stop will say plenty about whether there is still untapped NFL value waiting to be found. [Read more 🡒]