Michigan hires Wittingham

[bluestarcyclone]

I also think we’d have seen MC struggle without Heacock.

If he was planning on retiring before Campbell left (as had been rumored for awhile), certainly wonder how much that played in to Campbell's decision to leave. Things could have taken a step back on that end and he might have not had as many opportunities after that, so when Penn State came calling it made their offer even more appealing.

 

[awd4cy]

The Big12 is now officially the training ground for all BIG and SEC coaches andd players.

That was official about 3 years ago

 

[JM4CY]

I’m really not sure this works out so well for Michigan.

I agree. They were up shitscreek without a paddle though.

 

[cytor]

These guys must just love coaching. Whittingham is 66 years old and had a ~$7M salary last year. I assume he doesn't need the money anymore.

He's not in it for the $.... he's in it for the young staffers.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

This seems like a terrible hire.

 

[IceCyIce]

That was official about 3 years ago

Agreed, however this year will be felt more than the others. You could argue that the BIG got the best 2 coaches in the BIG12 and teams that would have competed for a conference championship. This will set both treams back regardless of portal additions.

 

[BCClone]

This seems like a terrible hire.

I think Michigan hires him to stop clean up the mess and be done in a year or two.

 

[JEFF420]

yep good hire. who tf else are you gonna get

 

[SCNCY]

yep good hire. who tf else are you gonna get

Really, your only options now would be the leftover scraps of coaches in college or a coordinator or coach in the NFL. Hiring one of the assistant coaches at Michigan would probably be a bad idea considering the issues the program has had with their coaches. I'm assuming they will want to clean house.

 

[simply1]

What I’ve heard is that the PE input was get Wit out. I’ll be curious how long he stays at Michigan.

 

[1UNI2ISU]

The Big12 is now officially the training ground for all BIG and SEC coaches andd players.

Welcome to the club. There aren't many benefits but we have super comfy chairs...

 

[MountainManHawk]

Agreed, however this year will be felt more than the others. You could argue that the BIG got the best 2 coaches in the BIG12 and teams that would have competed for a conference championship. This will set both treams back regardless of portal additions.

The flip side of this though is that ASU was able to keep Dillingham and BYU was able to keep Sitake.

 

[xr4ticlone]

Coaches leaving used to be an issue…but in the Wild West of NIL/TP it’s like starting over every time it happens. Even for ‘blue bloods’ like MI who are apparently down 25 kids already.

Can’t imagine Mi was running a tight ship…look for KW to clean more house before it’s done.

But they need a hard reset & someone to bring them a couple years of respectability to that job.

See kids…even endless money and tradition can end up in a cluster ****.

 

[FriendlySpartan]

Really, your only options now would be the leftover scraps of coaches in college or a coordinator or coach in the NFL. Hiring one of the assistant coaches at Michigan would probably be a bad idea considering the issues the program has had with their coaches. I'm assuming they will want to clean house.

It was also the hiring firm that made this call, no one at Michigan had any real involvement with the AD soon to be fired and an interm president.

Probably why it feels like such a weird hire but at this point in the year it is what it is. Shocking that Michigan needs a stabilizing hire but this could be saving the program from themselves for the next couple years.

Only real pushback he’s getting is the lack of Michigan/midwest ties and his age.

 

[Klubber]

The flip side of this though is that ASU was able to keep Dillingham and BYU was able to keep Sitake.

Dillingham and Sitake are elite. I think some are getting a little carried away with the idea that the B1G just plucks any coach they want from wherever.

Campbell was far from the 1st choice at Pedo. Not to mention the argument could be made that Sitake, Dillingham (as you said), and McGuire are the best coaches in the league, even including Campbell. Dillingham definitely outcoached Campbell in the 2 games we played vs ASU. Without a doubt.

 

[NWICY]

He's already hired Utah's OC and looks like he's going to take the entire offensive staff and a couple guys on defense.

Maybe don't force him out...

I'm sure that was a tough call to his staff " Hey guys want to come to Michigan with me better resources and we all get a big pay bump."

 

[NWICY]

I’m really not sure this works out so well for Michigan.

But do we really care? I know I don't.

 

[FriendlySpartan]

Dillingham and Sitake are elite. I think some are getting a little carried away with the idea that the B1G just plucks any coach they want from wherever.

Campbell was far from the 1st choice at Pedo. Not to mention the argument could be made that Sitake, Dillingham (as you said), and McGuire are the best coaches in the league, even including Campbell. Dillingham definitely outcoached Campbell in the 2 games we played vs ASU. Without a doubt.

They are also both alumni at the schools which means a lot. They have built in ties to the programs that run a lot deeper than many coaches.

 

[MountainManHawk]

They are also both alumni at the schools which means a lot. They have built in ties to the programs that run a lot deeper than many coaches.

I’m sure that played a role as well.

Also Utah could have easily kept Whittingham. Reading what their fans are saying on Twitter, I think they just didn’t want to run the risk that their coach-in-waiting eventually got tired of waiting around and would bail and take a job somewhere else. Sort of like when the Colts moved on from Peyton Manning because they wanted to go all-in on Andrew Luck.

Really I think what this hiring cycle showed is that some schools can manage things terribly and seemingly screw everything up and still fall into success like what PSU and Michigan just did with Campbell and Wittingam.

If most programs made that many missteps it would set them back a decade.

 

[isucy86]

It was also the hiring firm that made this call, no one at Michigan had any real involvement with the AD soon to be fired and an interm president.

Probably why it feels like such a weird hire but at this point in the year it is what it is. Shocking that Michigan needs a stabilizing hire but this could be saving the program from themselves for the next couple years.

Only real pushback he’s getting is the lack of Michigan/midwest ties and his age.

At this point not a lot of coaches with his track record and willing to start now.

The success of this hire comes down to his staff hires. Because my guess he will very much be a CEO head coach.