For so long, the University of Michigan football program and its fanbase have been enamored with the concept of a Michigan Man. 

The term “Michigan Man” gained traction after national title-winning coach Fielding H. Yost used it in his speeches. The term has morphed over the years, but is loosely defined as a man who is wholeheartedly dedicated to the University of Michigan.

Famed, now disgraced, former head coach Bo Schembechler was certainly a Michigan Man.

So too is Jim Harbaugh, who delivered the Wolverines a national title in 2023. 

Former Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore was notably not. And after his unsettling dismissal this past offseason, there are more questions than answers about the direction of the Michigan athletic department and football program. 

Enter Kyle Whittingham. 

Whittingham doesn’t have a degree from Ann Arbor. He didn’t grow up with winged-helmet photos plastered to his bedroom walls. And he isn't beholden to the Michigan Man ideology. Truth be told, he’s an outsider. But after the turmoil from this past offseason, perhaps that’s exactly what the Wolverines need. 

With Whittingham comes a brutal, physical style of football that might actually be the most on-brand version of Michigan we’ve seen in years. It’s a style built on toughness, discipline, and dominance on the lines. Whittingham doesn’t need to be a son of the program to fix it. He just needs to bring more professionalism than his predecessor. 

For a program that so often looks backward, an outsider might be the one thing missing for this program to finally move forward.

The most pressing issue for Whittingham in Year 1 is finding new ways to maximize the ceiling of promising quarterback Bryce Underwood. 

Under less-than-ideal circumstances last season, Underwood showed flashes of his top-end talent, but never truly hit top gear. He finished with a little over 2,400 yards and 11 touchdowns, but struggled with accuracy at times, throwing nine interceptions. 

Most Michigan fans can, and should, be willing to look past Underwood’s up-and-down play last season. The HC-OC combo of Sherrone Moore and Chip Lindsey always felt like an odd fit. In fact, that pairing probably did more harm than good as it pertained to Underwood’s development. Too often, the Wolverines refused to let Underwood cut it loose and push the ball downfield, rendering the entire unit a glorified pickleball offense. He never truly looked comfortable in the offense and had notable struggles in big games against good competition. 

At 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, Underwood has all the tools in the world. He’s got a big arm. He can run like a deer. And he looked every bit the part of a Vince Young-style regen while playing at nearby Belleville High School. He was the No. 1 quarterback recruit in the country for a reason. 

This season, the Michigan offense would likely benefit if Whittingham and red-hot OC Jason Beck (who followed Whittingham from Utah to Ann Arbor) paired that classic Utah battering ram-style rushing attack with a more aggressive passing game. Last season at Utah, Beck’s offense did a nice job of punishing opposing defenses on the ground, especially with quarterback Devon Dampier. It seems likely that Beck will also find a way to use Underwood’s mobility as part of the gameplan.

Whittingham brought the bulk of last year’s Utah staff with him to Michigan. He also brought a few key players, too, with tight end/wide receiver hybrid JJ Buchanan being the pick of the litter. Last season, Buchanan tallied 25 catches and five touchdowns. If all goes to plan, he’ll play an even bigger role this season.

Ultimately, if Beck can find ways to utilize Underwood’s legs regularly and make him a more effective downfield passer, we’ll likely see a much-improved version of the young quarterback and offense as a whole.

On the defensive side of the ball, Michigan just needs to find a way to generate the same havoc Utah created last season. According to ESPN’s Bill Connelly, Utah had a Top-20 defense in 2025, good for a 17.5 SP+ defensive rating. 

The Utes had arguably one of the Big 12’s best defensive units. Outside of a few outlier games (looking at you, Kansas State), the Utes did a nice job of squashing teams in the run game, while not allowing a ton of big plays through the air. And like all good Kyle Whittingham-led Utah teams, they hit like freight trains. That part is tough to quantify, but year over year, if you watched Utah football regularly, you’d see Utah defenders laying the absolute lumber. It was a truly glorious thing to watch.

Despite the weird circumstances and timing of Whittingham’s hire, the Wolverines brought in quality transfers on defense. Five Utes followed Whittingham to Ann Arbor, four of whom are on the defensive side of the ball. EDGE John Henry Daley along with DBs Smith Snowden and Salesi Moa should be immediate contributors. Former BYU linebacker Max Alford also joined the Wolverines. Factor in the returning talent still on the roster, and it should be a formidable group.

Arguably, the biggest acquisition on defense wasn’t a player; it was defensive coordinator Jay Hill, formerly of BYU. Hill was the architect of some excellent defenses in Provo and was widely regarded as a massive get for the Wolverines. Hill will undoubtedly mold this group into an ultra-physical, disciplined group that Big Ten offenses will not have a fun time playing against.  

Almost all modern head coach hires have big expectations for Year 1. That’s especially true for Whittingham as he enters the 2026 season. After a remarkable 21-year run at Utah, Whittingham likely doesn’t have a ton of head coaching left in him. Perhaps that was part of the thinking at Utah, where Whittingham was essentially pushed out in favor of coach-in-waiting Morgan Scalley.

The timing worked out for Michigan, which hired a fired-up 66-year-old coach with a chip on his shoulder who’s eager to prove this is a renovation project and not a retirement tour. Whittingham knows the pressure is on. His goal will undoubtedly be to get the Wolverines back in the College Football Playoff conversation this season. 

If he can do that, he’ll prove that being a “Michigan Man” is about upholding a standard of excellence, rather than a prerequisite for employment. 

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In this episode, we introduce a new game called “Bed or Built,” where we take some of college football’s most repeated narratives and decide whether it’s time to put them to bed or if they’re still built to last. With the 2026 season creeping closer, we sort through the stories that have followed programs, coaches, and fan bases for years, and ask which ones still make sense in the current version of the sport.

We dig into Mario Cristobal and Miami, Matt Rhule’s turnaround reputation, Lane Kiffin’s chaos factor, Ryan Day’s “born on third base” label, Texas A&M’s hard ceiling, Oregon’s late-season hurdle, Clemson’s attempts to adapt, James Franklin’s big-game baggage, and the difficulty of following Nick Saban at Alabama. Along the way, we get into the transfer portal, coaching hires, College Football Playoff expectations, roster-building, fan perception, and how quickly old narratives can become outdated.

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