Kyle Whittingham Addressed One Big Concern This Offseason

The Michigan Wolverines have an adult in the room as their head coach again, and the differences continue to pile up with each passing day.

Kyle Whittingham has been tasked with cleaning up the Michigan football program both on and off the field.

Most of the off field issues that have received national focus stemmed from the scandals that have resulted in a litany of turnover, which included the actions that ultimately led to the hiring of Whittingham.

As it turns out, the off-field issues for Michigan were also things that spilled onto the field.

When Jim Harbaugh was the head coach at Michigan, one of his team’s super powers came from a man that people rarely saw once games started.

Sure, there was focus on coaches like Jesse Minter or Mike MacDonald, but arguably the biggest reason for Michigan’s success at the end of the Harbaugh era was their strength and conditioning program led by Ben Herbert.

Team Blue offensive lineman Jake Guarnera (53) gets ready for the snap during the spring game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, April 18, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

When Harbaugh left for the NFL, the program hoped to be able to retain Herbert as its strength and conditioning coach, but ultimately Herbert followed Harbaugh to Los Angeles.

Michigan’s football program has had a rough two seasons the most recent of which was a nine win season that was largely smoke and mirrors. Michigan was largely uncompetitive in their three biggest games of the season, and blown away at the end of the year by Ohio State for the first time since 2019.

What was more alarming was Michigan for the first time since 2019 lost the physical battle in the trenches, and decisively so.

As it turns out, Whittingham may have snuffed out one of the biggest reasons as to why that happened.

#Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham recently addressed the crowd in Chicago during Big Ten Media Days.

Here are some takeaways from his speech.

STORY: https://t.co/OQ6GKMz4Ok pic.twitter.com/2eBisoOFuX
— Trent Knoop (@TrentKnoop) July 30, 2026

A significant departure.

Michigan’s football program under Herbert was one of the best teams in the second half of football games. Fox commentator Joel Klatt often compared them to a boa constrictor that would squeeze the life out of its opponents as the game wore on.

The overall conditioning and strength on the roster helped power the Wolverines to three straight Big Ten titles, capped off by a national championship following the 2023 season.

Michigan’s powers as a boa constrictor appeared to leave with Harbaugh and Herbert.

That was one of the first things that Whittingham sought to snuff out as he entered the program after he was given a damning statement from his new strength and conditioning coordinator, Doug Elisaia.

“Coach, you’re not going to like this,” Elisaia said.

The testing numbers for his team fell well below the expectation that Whittingham had, prompting a more committed focus to the strength program.

"The most glaring thing that stood out to me when we first got there was that when we tested them in the strength room, the overall strength of the team was not up to par," Whittingham said on Thursday

"And so we've worked hard the last seven months to correct that."

Whittingham was not alone in his assessment. Zeke Berry and Rod Moore played for both Harbaugh and Sherrone Moore. They’ve seen both ends of the spectrum, and noted that the difference in their program from last year to this year is night and day.

Accountability is a requirement, not an option.

Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh (left) and executive director of player performance Ben Herbert — IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

When Sherrone Moore was shown the door in December, Michigan hired a coach who is going to help the program go back to its roots. That starts with one of the most basic principles of football.

It’s a strong man’s game. Michigan’s return to the basics should pay immediate dividends.

"We tested last week, and I think every player on the team with the exception of just a handful did all their personal best in the lifts," Whittingham said.

"So we think we've got that problem solved. But that was probably the most eye-opening thing when we got here, because we had all these real tall, long, good-looking athletes but the sheer strength wasn't there. So we've addressed that."

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