As if Kyle Whittingham didn't have enough to deal with in getting his new team ready for the 2026 college football season, now his former program is going after his brother/tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham, with a new lawsuit.
Michigan made a home run hire when bringing in Whittingham, the 66-year-old head coach who spent 21 years with the Utes, winning three conference championships and finishing with a 177-88 record, to Ann Arbor. Whittingham was free and on the market after choosing to leave Utah of his own accord, but that didn't seem like the full story.
It seems like tensions were building with Whittingham and Utah over contract negotiations. Whittingham had no intention of retiring, but did have financial requests, including raises for himself and his staff. After negotiations didn't go well, the long-time Utah head coach left the program and was quickly picked up by Michigan, along with a member of his former staff.
That brings Freddie Whittingham into the equation, who followed his brother Kyle to Michigan. Utah's lawsuit against Freddie alleges that he "abandoned" his role as Utah's tight ends coach when he was still contracted with the Utes through January 2027.
Utah's lawsuit against Freddie Whittingham feels more like a shot at his brother Kyle Whittingham
Utah is seeking more than $300,000 from Freddie Whittingham for his breach of contract, along with at least $1 million in damages. The lawsuit claims that Whittingham didn't get written consent from Utah before engaging with Michigan and then didn't provide a written letter of resignation or pay the liquidated damages laid out in the terms of his contract.
Utah also claims that Whittingham actively recruited Utah players to Michigan while he was still employed by the Utes.
This is all a messy situation, and while the lawsuit is pointed at Freddie Whittingham, this feels a bit like a shot at his brother Kyle for choosing to leave Utah and then quickly taking the job at Michigan. Documents revealed months after Whittingham's departure that his final days at Utah were not the brightest and that Utah athletic director Mark Harlan weighed whether or not to sue Kyle for breach of contract.
That lawsuit would have alleged that Kyle Whittingham recruiting Utah coaches from his staff to Michigan was "contrary to the terms of his employment agreement," an agreement that he needed to assist with the smooth transition of the football program to the new head coach.
Let's not forget that the new head coach was former defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley, whom the Utes were planning to replace Whittingham with if he had chosen to retire after last season. Also, when a coach leaves a program, they don't have to help with the transition, and seeing that things didn't actually end very well between Whittingham and Utah, it's no surprise he didn't.
Ultimately, Harlan chose not to sue Whittingham and instead paid him an 8-figure exit fee to help preserve his legacy as Utah's long-time head coach. Now it is Freddie who will have to deal with the lawsuit from his former program merely weeks before he and his brother are set to begin their first seasons at Michigan.
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