Kyle Whittingham’s first year at Michigan has already put the Wolverines in an uncomfortable spot, and the financial side of a possible coaching change is no small part of it.
Whittingham arrived from Utah with a reputation for steadiness, but Michigan hired him to replace fired head coach Sherrone Moore, and the early results have not given the program much relief. The question of whether he lasts beyond this season is still open, but if Michigan decides to move on, the price tag would be steep.
Whittingham signed a five-year, $41 million base salary deal when he was hired, with incentives and raises also in the mix. He is making $8 million in this first season, and that number climbs by $100,000 each year until it reaches $8.4 million by 2031. If Michigan fires him without cause, it owes him 75% of his salary, which puts his current buyout at $25.8 million.
That is a big number for a coach who was just brought in at the start of the year. Still, Michigan does have some financial flexibility here. The school is not carrying other buyout obligations to former coaches, since Moore was fired for cause and former head basketball coach Dusty May left for the NBA on his own.
The longer Michigan waits, the smaller Whittingham’s buyout becomes. That is the route some schools, like Florida State, have taken. But the flip side is obvious: waiting also means risking more damage to a football program that has already been through plenty.
Whittingham may not even be the main issue in Ann Arbor. A lot of the frustration has centered on offensive coordinator Jason Beck, whose unit has drawn plenty of blame for Michigan’s offensive problems.
Beck signed a three-year, $9 million contract when he was hired, which works out to an average of $3 million per year. Coordinator buyouts can work differently than head coach buyouts, but if Michigan were to fire Beck before the deal is up, the school would most likely owe him the remaining money on the contract.
That would still be expensive, just nowhere near the cost of moving on from Whittingham. If Michigan wanted to clean up the offense first, Beck could be the easier place to start. From there, Whittingham could be on a shorter leash next season, with the buyout number continuing to shrink if the school keeps waiting.
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Michigan Fans Wont Believe The Flag That Helped Indiana Score
A controversial roughing-the-passer flag on Michigan freshman Tariq Boney quickly became one of the biggest talking points in the early stages of the No. 6 Indiana matchup, after contact with quarterback Josh Hoover drew a penalty that gave Indiana 15 yards and a fresh set of downs. The call helped keep the drive alive and played a part in Indiana jumping out to an early lead, adding another layer to a game already under a bright spotlight.
Fox analyst Joel Klatt did not hide his frustration with the decision, calling out the officiating live as the sequence unfolded. For Michigan, it was the kind of penalty that can change the tone of a game in a hurry, and it comes amid broader debate over similar calls in recent weeks. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Wasted A Dominant Defensive Effort With One Infuriating Problem
Michigans defense did its part in the loss to Indiana, holding up well enough to keep the game within reach and give the Wolverines every chance to leave with a win. The trouble was on the other side of the ball, where the offense never found enough consistency to match that effort and a 13-6 defeat settled in as a wasted opportunity in a game Michigan had managed to keep under control.
Jason Becks play-calling will take the harshest scrutiny, especially the third-and-goal play-action decision that ended in a sack and erased a scoring chance the Wolverines badly needed. Tommy Carr had moments of promise with a few key completions, but his mixed night also included two turnovers, leaving Michigan stuck between a defense that showed up and an offense that never quite did enough to reward it. [Read more 🡒]
Michigans Red Zone Frustration Just Put Jason Beck Under Fire
Michigans 13-6 loss to No. 6 Indiana was the kind of game that leaves an offense searching for answers, especially after moving the ball enough to finish with 224 total yards but not nearly enough to turn those possessions into points. The Wolverines had trouble running the ball, struggled to protect possession and got only a little help from a kicking game that included two missed attempts by Trey Butkowski, turning a winnable afternoon into another reminder of how thin the margin can be.
For Kyle Whittingham, the frustration also landed on the coaching decisions, with the Michigan coach taking responsibility for a questionable call from offensive coordinator Jason Beck that hurt the flow of the game. It added to a performance that never found the right rhythm in the red zone, and now the challenge is to clean up the offense quickly before the next stretch of games puts even more pressure on every drive. [Read more 🡒]