Joel Klatt describes why Kyle Whittingham to Michigan is an 'incredible fit'

When Sherrone Moore was fired from Michigan, there were several names floated around who the Wolverines were going to target. Coaches like Kalen DeBoer, Kenny Dillingham, Jeff Brohm, and Jedd Fisch, among others, were all listed toward the top -- depending on who you listened to.

But Michigan wouldn't get any of them. The Wolverines landed their man and it's future Hall of Fame coach, Kyle Whittingham.

On Joel Klatt's latest podcast, Klatt thought the hire was out of left field, but that's because he thought Whittingham was set to retire. However, Michigan made the phone call and landed one of the top coaches in college football.

“He steps away from Utah, and then all of a sudden, he shows up, and here he is now announced as the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines. This was massive, and I got to tell you, a little bit out of left field," Klatt said of Michigan's new hire.

"I had not heard his name. It was very quiet. It was below the surface.
Give Warde Manual a lot of credit on this one and everyone at Michigan, because this was not a name that a lot of people were floating around, including myself.

"Listen, I love this hire, but I love this hire not just because I'm very fond of Kyle Whittingham and his style of coaching and his style of play in terms of the way his teams play, but because of what Michigan was facing in this entire ordeal.”

Klatt lays out what Michigan challenged in this search

Kyle Whittingham at Michigan — Michigan Athletics

Klatt applauded Michigan in its efforts to hire Whittingham, who coached Utah for over 30 yards and 20 years as the head coach. The sports broadcaster said the Wolverines faced four challenges in this coaching search: timing of the search, finding someone with a similar playing identity, the ability to stabilize the program, and finding someone at the end of the coaching carousel.

Not only did Michigan find Whittingham, but Klatt says it's an excellent fit.

“All of these challenges were staring in the face of the Michigan administration," said Klatt. "And here they land on Kyle Whittingham. Now, there's not many coaches in the country that fit all of those things that allow you to say, listen, I know that timing is an issue, but we can get them in here quickly.

"I know play identity is an issue, but I've got somebody that fits that play identity, that style. I know our culture needs a reset and needs stabilization. I've got someone with the highest character and integrity that I can think of in the industry to reset the culture and stabilize the culture.
Oh, by the way, he's also available. It's like all of a sudden, they land on Kyle Whittingham. And I gotta tell you, this is an incredible fit.”

A proven winner who can win at Michigan

While Utah doesn't have the resources that Michigan has, Whittingham has shown he can run a program. He was a two-time Coach of the Year and helped the Utes go undefeated in 2008. Utah has been a physical team, and a team that wins games.

Now that he heads to Michigan, the Wolverines are going to give him all the resources he needs to win in Ann Arbor. Klatt believes Michigan has a top-10 roster, if Whittingham can retain the talent, heading into next season.

“I mean, he is a winner. He's going to go to the Hall of Fame," Klatt said of Whittingham. "And now he's going to go to Michigan because he looks at this as an opportunity to actually go out there and compete for a national championship.

"I don't know if, you know, he didn't say this verbatim, but I think that there is an underlying thing here of like, okay, like you can do it there. Whereas at Utah, I always felt like it was an uphill climb. Whereas Michigan, you can do it. You can go win a national title. They are funded. They've got everything that they need.”

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