Alas, the Michigan Wolverines have a new head coach.
In all regards, it seems like this was a good choice by Michigan. Closest thing to a slam dunk. Or at least, a chance to go for two after a game-tying touchdown with two seconds on the clock. Kyle Whittingham seems like the right guy. He has to be the right guy, doesn't he?
While it's apparent what Kyle Whittingham has to do which in simple terms, is to fix something that has completely gone off rails, it is more apparent that Michigan football is in some of its darkest days. Of course, there have been plenty of seasons with losing records and underachieving teams with grave disappointment and devastating losses, but what has occurred at Michigan in the past few years has been a setting of the sun.
To think, this program won a national championship, a few seasons ago, and now they are hiring their second replacement for their previous legendary coach, Jim Harbaugh.
Put aside, Harbaugh for a second, the advanced scouting scandal that rocked the program with Connor Stalions was enough to make Michigan fans throw up their breakfast. But to have yet another scandal that rocked the program could make any Wolverine fan wonder if they turned on an extremely run of bad luck.
What happened with Sherrone Moore, has been discussed ad nauseam, but personal missteps aside, Moore did not do much in his two years as Michigan's head coach. A win against Ohio State seems far gone now. The team constantly underwhelmed in games against ranked opponents and never felt like a team that really had an identity. Which, in some ways, makes sense, because it seemed Moore's focus was elsewhere.
As far as Harbaugh, whether he knew about the scandal, in any instance, these people once worked for him. His judgment of character feels slightly skewed. Michigan football is the main character in a tragic story of its own doing. If the basketball team wasn't ranked No. 2 in the country, what would a Michigan fan have to cheer about?
The looming bowl game with Texas on New Year's Eve feels like an afterthought in this lost season. Last year, beating Alabama was a consolation prize for an average season, and Sherrone Moore felt like a hero. This year, it feels like even if the Wolverines pulled out a win, it wouldn't mean much. It would be like a staff mandated birthday card, where everyone just signs their name. No real substance. Maybe the sponsors could gift a box of Cheez-its to all the Michigan fans, like a pat on the shoulder.
Kyle Whittingham has a tough road ahead; nobody knows that more than he does.
Somewhere, there is light at the end of the tunnel. There has to be, right?