Kyle Whittingham spent 21 seasons at Utah Utes. He won games, ran a clean program, and made the Utes a program that opponents dreaded seeing on the schedule. Now that he is at the Michigan Wolverines, at least one Big 12 rival is breathing a little easier.

Athlon Sports spoke with anonymous coaches across the Big 12 ahead of the 2026 season. When Whittingham's name came up, the reaction was telling. One coach did not even try to hide the relief.

"But yeah, it's definitely a relief that Whittingham is out of the Big 12 because he's a great football coach, and he's an even better person," he said, per Athlon Sports via Yardbarker.

That one quote said everything. The respect was real. So was the happiness to see him gone.

Another coach brought up Utah's offensive scheme and what made it so hard to stop. The context matters here because Jason Beck, the architect of that offense, is now Michigan's offensive coordinator.

"They cause a lot of mismatches because they're plus-one in the run game with the quarterback and all the pullers and gap schemes that they did," another coach said.

Michigan is hoping Bryce Underwood can do what Devon Dampier did at Utah last season in that same system.

The Utes made history during the second quarter of the Las Vegas Bowl. After entering the game with 3,237 rushing yards, a 9-yard carry by Dampier helped Utah surpass its previous single-season rushing record, raising its total to 3,269 yards.

Not everything was glowing, though. A third coach pointed to Utah's run defense as the thing that held them back in 2025. The Utes ranked third-to-last in the Big 12, allowing over 181 rushing yards per game.

"It's gonna be really interesting to see what their new philosophy is on offense and defense because they did struggle to stop the run last season," the coach said.

The 2025 defensive numbers were an outlier, not a pattern. He has since added Jay Hill from BYU Cougars as Michigan's new defensive coordinator to address exactly that.

Big Ten Coaches Weigh In on Kyle Whittingham's New Roster

Anonymous Big Ten coaches believe the Michigan roster inherited by the new staff is exceptionally talented and ready to compete for a championship immediately.

The team is built to win now rather than undergo a rebuilding phase, with the 2025 recruiting class positioning them for long-term success. Another coach explained the roster's timeline.

“The 2027 season was the target because they really liked that 2025 class, so the thought was to build it for that third year and focus on retaining those guys while bringing in younger players," he said.

However, even though Whittingham has set the expectations clear for his roster, winning the Big Ten title and the playoffs, the new head coach might have to wait a little longer. To an analyst, the milestones will come after the 2026 season.

"If all goes according to plan and the team’s core shows meaningful progress, it’s fair to have championship expectations for 2027," wrote Maize n Brew analyst Nick Durand.

The Big Ten will serve as Whittingham's next proving ground after years of success in the Big 12.

What do you think about Whittingham's move from Utah to Michigan? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Farheen Fathima

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar