Kyle Whittingham has a special message for Michigan fans with spring ball approaching

It had to take a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get Kyle Whittingham to leave something incredible at Utah. While the Utes were wanting to promote Morgan Scalley from within for a while, Whittingham is a future hall-of-fame head coach. He may be in his mid-60s, but he would have been foolish to pass up this fantastic opportunity to do something great with the Michigan Wolverines. He is all about this.

Whittingham spoke on his first few weeks since coming to Ann Arbor while on the Big Ten Network.

"Well, great little community, first of all. The downtown area is fantastic. It is a little chilly here, I can tell you that. But from what I've heard, this is the chilliest winter in the last 20 years. So apparently it's not quite this cold each year, but cold doesn't bother me. I come from Salt Lake City, so it's not a big deal."

What does seem to come across is how grateful and appreciative he is of the fan base since arriving.

"It's a great town. The support from the community is tremendous. Everywhere you go, people are excited to meet you and 'Go Blue!' and all that type of thing. Our staff has been very well received, and we're excited to get going."

Here is what Whittingham said about coming to Ann Arbor while appearing on The Big Ten Network.

Whittingham comes to Ann Arbor hoping to get the Wolverines back into the College Football Playoff.

Kyle Whittingham seems to have transition to Ann Arbor life seamlessly

Even if he has been in the coaching profession for a very long time, Whittingham and his incoming staff do feel like a breath of fresh air in some capacities. They are coming into this, aiming to do what they never could at Utah, which is to make the playoff. The abundance of resources and working for a much bigger brand is something that was just not possible in Salt Lake. They are so appreciative of it.

And that may not seem like much, but it goes such a long way. When people have been in the same place for a long time, they tend to get complacent and take all the little things for granted. In a way, this could be a boost to not only Michigan's overall viability this fall, but to the legacy of Whittingham himself. He did extraordinary things in the wake of Urban Meyer. Now his stage is as big as it ever was.

Overall, you want all parties pulling in the same direction. When everyone is trying to accomplish a common goal, it can be realized. Even though Michigan did win a national championship three years ago, the end of the Jim Harbaugh era left the program at a crossroads. It became readily apparent that Sherrone Moore was not the guy, scandal or not. Under Whittingham, Michigan can bounce back.

Look for the Wolverines to be on a shortlist of teams who can realistically make the 12-team playoff.