Michigan's 'fallback' option could be a blessing in disguise if this coach is hired

The coaching carousel has taken another turn not in Michigan's favor of late. With the Wolverines reportedly missing out on Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham, as well as Kalen DeBoer leading the Alabama Crimson Tide to a road playoff victory over the Oklahoma Sooners on Friday night, that leaves us with the likes of Clark Lea, Jeff Brohm, and a handful of others to take the reigns.

That being said, we all keep forgetting what Kyle Whittingham said after he stepped down at Utah...

“I’m a free agent, I’m in the transfer portal. Like I said, I’m at peace and I did not want to be that guy that overstayed his welcome with people just saying, ‘Hey, when’s this guy gonna leave?’ That was not my intention, ever. I hope I didn’t do that. I’m sure with some people, I did do that, but, the timing to me, the timing is right.”

Whittingham may be 66 years old, but he effectively ran Michigan light for years over in Salt Lake City.

Although it may not be the hire the Michigan faithful was hoping for, Whittingham to Ann Arbor would make a ton of sense. We are talking about a hall-of-fame-level head coach, potentially going to a better-resourced program, with a decent shot of turning this thing around in a hurry. More importantly, everyone involved at Michigan likely wants to completely turn the page on Jim Harbaugh.

It might only be for a few years, but Whittingham could be the ideal palate cleanser Michigan needs.

Kyle Whittingham may be the perfect coach for what Michigan needs now

In a way, it felt very strange that Whittingham stepped down at Utah before he led the Utes to the College Football Playoff. They had been close for years in both the Big 12 and Pac-12, but no cigar. The idea behind him leaving is he did not want to overstay his welcome in Salt Lake City. His defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley has been groomed to be his replacement for years already.

Whittingham may have grown up in Provo and played his college football at BYU before getting into coaching. He was the guy to take over for Urban Meyer at Utah two decades ago. Whittingham was the one to help transform the Utes from a lovable BCS buster, to one of the best programs in the country over the course of his tenure there. He built Utah the right way. Can it translate to Michigan?

Even though Michigan fans may want a younger head coach than him, Dillingham is not coming, and DeBoer cannot probably come either because the timing could not be worse. So let's take a good, hard look at Whittingham. He is available, and his proven track record speaks for itself. While he may have wanted to retire after the 2026 season initially, that was a few years ago. Maybe he is the guy?

Whittingham to Michigan could be the ultimate blessing in disguise if he were to be hired here soon.