Michigan football coach Kyle Whittingham made it clear in his introductory press conference that an upheaval of the Wolverines’ coaching staff would commence shortly after his hiring.
“I would anticipate, of the ten full-time coaches, seven or eight new guys and two or three holdovers,” Whittingham said Dec. 28.
Since then, Whittingham brought in offensive coordinator Jason Beck from Utah and defensive coordinator Jay Hill from BYU, both on Friday. Wednesday, the remaining position coaches on both sides of the ball were officially hired, completing a staff of ten full-time coaches.
Michigan’s new staff looks almost entirely different than it did a month ago, and Whittingham more or less held true to his initial claim to replace around 80% of coaches.
In place of Grant Newsome, the Wolverines’ former offensive line coach, is Jim Harding in the same role. Harding served as the Utes’ O-line coach for the past 12 seasons. Harding has coached 12 first-team all-conference players since 2015, the most by any coach in the country over that time. Two current Utah offensive linemen, Caleb Lomu and Spencer Fano, are projected as first-round picks in this year’s NFL draft.
Harding has a history in the state of Michigan, serving as defensive coordinator and head coach for Troy Athens High School from 2005-08. He’ll be met with high expectations from a program that has always valued dominance, physicality and consistency at the position and won back-to-back Joe Moore Awards four seasons ago. Harding will also serve as assistant head coach.
Freddie Whittingham, Kyle’s brother, is replacing Steve Casula as Michigan’s tight ends coach. Freddie coached the Utes’ tight ends for ten seasons, and served as the program’s director of player personnel from 2012-15. He continued to coordinate recruiting for Utah when he coached tight ends. Under Freddie, tight ends played a significant role in the Utes’ offense. A tight end led the team in receiving yards three of the last six seasons.
Micah Simon, replacing Ron Bellamy as the Wolverines’ wide receivers coach, is another addition from Utah’s staff. Simon started with the Utes in 2024, and previously served short stints at New Mexico, Northern Colorado and Syracuse, where he worked under Beck. Simon is just 28 years old, and played as a wideout for BYU from 2015-19, tallying 1,109 yards and five touchdowns. Marques Hagans, who worked with Beck at Virginia and most recently coached at Penn State, is also joining Michigan’s staff as assistant wide receiver coach.
Another new coach with a connection to Beck is Koy Detmer Jr., who will serve as the Wolverines’ quarterback coach. Son of former NFL quarterback Koy Detmer, Detmer Jr. followed Beck from Syracuse to New Mexico before joining Utah’s staff last season. Utes quarterback Devon Dampier, who also came with Beck and Detmer Jr. from the Lobos to Utah, grew from throwing 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions to 24 touchdowns and five interceptions under two years with Detmer Jr. If Underwood stays with the program, he’ll be directly coached by Detmer Jr.
With Beck, Harding, Freddie, Simon and Detmer Jr., Kyle has brought together some of college football’s strongest offensive minds with a proven record of player development. But the six coaches have spent the bulk of their careers on the West Coast, and recruiting in the Midwest is mostly unfamiliar territory.
“You always want to take care of your own backyard,” Kyle said. “No doubt about that. … (We’ll) start developing relationships with high school coaches … Put a lot of manpower in the state of Michigan, divide the state up and get plenty of coverage. And so that’s really just the key is to make sure we don’t miss anybody in the state.”
Many of the new offensive coaches are capable recruiters, but only time will tell — through incoming transfers and future high school prospects — if those skills can transfer to a new pool of talent.
On the defensive side of the ball, Jerarno Gilford is leaving BYU where he was the Cougars’ defensive pass game coordinator and cornerbacks coach to join Michigan in a similar role, replacing LaMar Morgan. Gilford coached BYU corners for ten seasons, and the Cougars ranked No. 19 in scoring defense while catching 17 interceptions this past season. Tyler Stockton, former co-defensive coordinator from Boise State, is also joining Michigan’s staff as a safeties coach.
Replacing Brian Jean-Mary as linebackers coach is Alex Whittingham, Kyle’s son. Alex coached several positions on the Kansas City Chiefs’ defense since 2018, working with defensive lineman Chris Jones, linebacker Nick Bolton, defensive back Trent McDuffie and others. Alex walked on to the Utah football team in 2013 and played 45 games under his father.
Former Utes defensive ends coach Lewis Powell is joining Michigan to coach the defensive line and serve as run game coordinator. Powell has coached under Kyle since 2015, and managed Utah’s D-line for three seasons and the defensive ends for seven.
Powell will not be replacing Lou Esposito, the Wolverines’ current defensive line coach. Esposito is considered one of the program’s premier recruiters and will remain on the staff, now as defensive tackles coach.
Running backs coach Tony Alford is the second returning position coach. Alford is also a strong recruiter who joined the Wolverines in 2024 and has continued to uphold the program’s identity in the run game.
The third and final returning assistant is Kerry Coombs, Michigan’s special teams coordinator who was hired days before Moore’s dismissal and brings with him over 40 years of coaching experience. Coombs had a seemingly instant impact on the Wolverines’ special teams in the Citrus Bowl, as freshman wide receiver Andrew Marsh returned four punts for 143 total yards — a vast improvement for an area of Michigan’s game that struggled this season.
Esposito and Alford especially, both of whom have been with the Wolverines for several seasons, were some of the previous staff’s best recruiters, and also succeeded at turning talented players into NFL prospects. Both are very familiar with scouting and recruiting talent in the Midwest. In retaining them, Kyle has shown that recruiting and player development are some of his main values.
Friday, when the Michigan men’s basketball team hosted Southern California, Kyle spoke to fans during a timeout. Flanked by most of his new assistants, Kyle didn’t shy away from the expectations that come with being the head coach in Ann Arbor.
“I can say for sure that we’re gonna be a physical football team,” Kyle said, as Crisler Center erupted. “… Our goal, every Saturday, is to go 1-0.”
Kyle, Beck, Hill and the Wolverines’ new position coaches will have high expectations given their pedigree and experience. Taking over a talented roster with high upside, their work is cut out for them.
