Kyle Whittingham’s future at Michigan is suddenly a real conversation, and the Wolverines’ next move could shape the program again before this season even fully plays out.
Michigan is staring at a messy stretch after a 15-6 loss to rival Michigan State and with No. 16 Oregon up next on Saturday.
No. 4 UCLA and No.
20 Ohio State are still waiting on the schedule, too. The season already opened with a controversial 13-12 win over Western Michigan on a Hail Mary, and the instability only deepened when Michigan fired offensive coordinator Jason Beck on Monday.
If the Wolverines stumble to 5-7, another coaching change would be in play for the second straight year.
Whittingham, 66, arrived after going 177-88 at Utah, but he has not brought the kind of steadiness Michigan wanted. Even so, this remains a blue-blood job in the Big Ten, and that means the opening would draw a strong field if it comes to that.
The financial piece is not insignificant, but it may not be a dealbreaker. Whittingham is on a five-year, $41 million contract, and his buyout is close to $25 million.
That’s a number Michigan could potentially work through. The bigger wrinkle is timing: athletic director Warde Manuel is stepping down at the end of the year, which means any decision would come with a lame-duck AD in charge.
That alone could buy Whittingham another season to try to steady things on the field.
If Michigan does move on, the candidate list would be loaded with names worth serious attention.
Bob Chesney, UCLA coach, would be near the top of it. The 49-year-old has engineered a stunning one-season turnaround at UCLA.
The Bruins are rushing for more than 200 yards per game and have a top-10 defense, the kind of profile that worked so well for Michigan during the Jim Harbaugh years. Chesney has also put together four 10-win seasons over the last six years across Holy Cross, James Madison and UCLA.
UCLA is reportedly working on an extension, though, which would complicate any pursuit. Still, Michigan would be a clear step up, and the Big Ten would feel the ripple effect.
Jason Eck of New Mexico belongs high on the board, too. The 49-year-old former Wisconsin offensive lineman has built a strong résumé at Idaho and New Mexico, going 43-18 as a head coach.
The Lobos are in the College Football Playoff hunt, and Eck already showed what New Mexico could do against Michigan last season, when the Lobos were down 10 in the fourth quarter as a 34.5-point underdog. Michigan last hired a Group of 6 head coach in 2011, when Brady Hoke eventually went 31-20 in four seasons.
Bryant Haines, Indiana’s defensive coordinator, is another name to watch. At 41, he already has a Broyles Award on his résumé after being named the nation’s top assistant coach in 2025.
He’s a London, Ohio, native and a Ball State alum, and his defenses have been a calling card at both James Madison and Indiana. The jump to Michigan would be a major first head-coaching job, but the Cignetti coaching tree is clearly one to monitor.
Clark Lea would also make sense as a name that could gain traction. The 45-year-old Vanderbilt coach has gone 30-41 overall, but the last three seasons have produced a 21-14 record, including a 10-win season in 2025.
Lea was Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator from 2018-20, and as a Vanderbilt alum he also helped recruit five-star quarterback Jared Curtis. Michigan would offer a much bigger stage, and that could be hard to ignore.
Will Stein, Kentucky coach, is another younger option with momentum. At 37, he has Kentucky in the College Football Playoff hunt in his first year, and the work with quarterback Kenny Minchey has stood out.
Stein also spent time as an offensive coordinator under Dan Lanning, who is on Michigan’s wish list but would be nearly impossible to pry away from Oregon. Stein is an aggressive swing, but he has already shown enough in Year 1 to get a look.
Kalani Sitake of BYU is in the mix as well, though this one feels like a longer shot. The 51-year-old BYU alum has turned the Cougars into a yearly playoff contender in the Big 12, and they are on pace for their fifth 10-win season in seven years.
He was also a candidate for the Penn State job in the last cycle. Michigan just tried the other coach from Utah, though, and that didn’t work.
Sitake seems like a better fit than Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham, who was in the mix at Michigan last year before signing a five-year extension.
Jeff Brohm should not be ignored either. The Louisville coach, 55, signed an eight-year extension to stay put, but he’s still worth a call.
Brohm has been excellent at quarterback development and has led Purdue and Louisville to winning seasons in each of the last six years. He also knows the Big Ten, which only adds to his appeal if Michigan wants a proven name with conference familiarity.
Then there’s Brian Kelly, the former LSU coach. He was on this same list last year after Moore was fired, and the résumé still speaks for itself.
Kelly won 10 or more games in seven straight seasons at Notre Dame and LSU from 2017-23, and the year away may have given him a reset for another opportunity. He also won at Grand Valley State and Central Michigan.
The question is the same one that follows him everywhere now: is this a long-term solution?
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