College Football Insider Names Three ‘Gettable’ Michigan Coaching Targets

ESPN’s Pete Thamel updated the state of the Wolverines’ coaching search on Wednesday.

Michigan continues to look for a football coach to replace Sherrone Moore. / Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Two weeks have passed since Michigan abruptly fired football coach Sherrone Moore, who was later arrested and charged with felony home invasion and two misdemeanors. Now, one of the biggest jobs in college football is open, after programs of a similar status like Florida, LSU and Penn State have already closed their searches.

So far, the Wolverines have been quite deliberate in its search. With Alabama heading to the College Football Playoff quarterfinal after its win over Oklahoma, Kalen DeBoer appears to be off the table. Another rumored target, Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham, recently signed an extension to stay at his alma mater.

Given the many coaches who have already signed contract extensions off the backs of the aforementioned coaching searches, Michigan didn’t enter an environment ripe with top coaches to poach. Appearing on Wednesday’s Get Up, ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel updated where the Wolverines search stands, naming three candidates in the program’s “crosshairs” considered “gettable”—Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz, Washington’s Jedd Fisch and outgoing Utah coach Kyle Whittingham.

Louisville’s Jeff Brohm, who has been connected to the job, is not “in the initial list of candidates that Michigan did talk to,” per Thamel.

Fischer: Ten Candidates for Michigan Football Coaching Search After Sherrone Moore Fired

.@PeteThamel gives an update on Michigan's head coaching search ✍️ pic.twitter.com/OxXixtOds9

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) December 24, 2025

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Résumés of Michigan’s reported coaching candidates

As Thamel outlines, there are some obstacles for all three coaches. Drinkwitz’s Tigers face Virginia in Saturday’s Gator Bowl while Whittingham will coach his final game at Utah on New Year’s Eve against Nebraska in the Las Vegas Bowl. Fisch’s season is done, after he led Washington to an impressive 38–10 win over Boise State in the LA Bowl.

Here’s how the three coaches stack up:

Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri coach

The Arkansas native began his coaching career at the high school level in his home state before jumping to Auburn as a quality control coach. From there, he bounced around as an assistant coach at Arkansas State, Boise State and NC State before landing his first head coaching job at Appalachian State. Following one impressive season leading the Mountaineers, he made the move to the SEC, taking over Mizzou. He’s led the Tigers to bowl games every year, posting a pair of 10 win seasons and one finish at No. 8 in the polls.

Drinkwitz’s name came up for openings at Florida and Penn State, but he ultimately signed an extension to remain at Missouri in late November. That may not preclude a program like Michigan from swooping in.

Drinkwitz’s year-by-year record

Year	Program	Record	Conference Record	Final Ranking (AP/Coaches)
2019	Appalachian State	12–1	8–1 (Sun Belt)	19/18
2020	Missouri	5–5	5–5 (SEC)
2021	Missouri	6–7	3–5
2022	Missouri	6–7	3–5
2023	Missouri	11–2	6–2	8/8
2024	Missouri	10–3	5–3	22/20
2025	Missouri	8–4	4–4	25/NR (Current)

Jedd Fisch, Washington coach

Conventional wisdom is that Michigan will venture outside of the Jim Harbaugh coaching tree for its next hire, and while Fisch isn’t fully entrenched in Harbaugh-world the way that so many of his former Wolverines assistants (and those who’ve worked for his brother John with the Ravens) are, he did serve as Harbaugh’s quarterbacks and wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator in Ann Arbor from 2015 to ‘16. The Florida grad also has college experience at Minnesota, Miami and UCLA and landed his first head coaching job at Arizona, transforming the Wildcats from one of the worst Power 4 programs into a 10-game winner, before taking over for DeBoer at Washington. He also has extensive NFL assistant experience.

Fisch’s year-by-year record

Year	Program	Record	Conference Record	Final Ranking (AP/Coaches)
2021	Arizona	1–11	1–8 (Pac-12)
2022	Arizona	5–7	3–6
2023	Arizona	10–3	7–2	11/11
2024	Washington	6–7	4–5 (Big Ten)
2025	Washington	9–4	5–4

Kyle Whittingham, Utah coach

It likely wouldn’t be a longterm hire, as the 66-year-old appears to be in the back nine of his career after electing to step down after two decades leading Utah—the program he inherited when Urban Meyer left for Florida. He’s one of the top coaches in the country, however, and feels like a strong culture fit for a place like Michigan. The Wolverines would want to build a long term plan for when Whittingham ultimately retires, but he could help stabilize a program that has become—to borrow a term from Michigan interim coach Biff Poggi—a “malfunctioning organization” given the myriad scandals to hit Ann Arbor in recent years.

A BYU graduate, Whittingham held assistnat jobs at Eastern Utah and Idaho State before landing the defensive line job at Utah in ‘94. He became defensive coordinator the following season, and remained on staff in Salt Lake City through 2005, when he took over as head coach.

Whittingham has turned Utah into one of the most consistent programs of the last two decades, winning double-digit games nine times, and he was careful to not refer to his impending departure as a retirement, signaling he’s open to other opportunities.

Whittingham’s year-by-year record

Year	Program	Record	Conference Record	Final Ranking (AP/Coaches)
2005	Utah	7–5	4–4 (Mountain West)
2006	Utah	8–5	5–3
2007	Utah	9–4	5–3
2008	Utah	13–0	8–0	2/4
2009	Utah	10–3	6–2	18/18
2010	Utah	10–3	7–1	NR/23
2011	Utah	8–5	4–5 (Pac-12)
2012	Utah	5–7	3–6
2013	Utah	5–7	2–7
2014	Utah	9–4	5–4	21/20
2015	Utah	10–3	6–3	17/16
2016	Utah	9–4	5–4	23/21
2017	Utah	7–6	3–6
2018	Utah	9–5	6–3
2019	Utah	11–3	8–1	16/16
2020	Utah	3–2	3–2
2021	Utah	10–4	8–1	12/12
2022	Utah	10–4	7–2	10/11
2023	Utah	8–5	5–4
2024	Utah	5–7	2–7 (Big 12)
2025	Utah	10–2	7–2	15/15 (Current)

There’s no guarantee that Michigan will settle on any of these three, and Thamel stressed that he doesn’t believe a hire is imminent.

“I do not expect Michigan to make a hire this week, certainly not before Christmas and then immediately after Christmas doesn’t appear likely as well,” he said on Get Up.

Poggi will lead the Wolverines in the Citrus Bowl against Texas on Dec. 31.

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