Michigan to retain second coach from Sherrone Moore's staff under Kyle Whittingham

There have now been two confirmed coaches to be retained by Kyle Whittingham.

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Although Michigan added Utah defensive ends coach Lewis Powell to the staff on Thursday evening, the Wolverines have also announced they are going to retain Lou Esposito from the current staff. The plan will be for Powell to work with the edge rushers, while Esposito works with the interior line.

Esposito is now the confirmed second staffer who has been retained from the Sherrone Moore era. Running backs coach Tony Alford was the first, and it's also expected that Kyle Whittingham keeps new special teams coordinator Kerry Coombs in place.

So far, Whittingham and Michigan haven't announced anything on who will be coaching either the linebackers or the secondary. Michigan had Brian Jean-Mary coach the linebackers and LaMar Morgan coach the defensive backs this season. Morgan has been a ferocious recruiter for Michigan and many fans want to see him back in the fold.

The Powell/Esposito combo

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Esposito just finished his second season in Ann Arbor and the Wolverines' defensive line continues to impress. Last season, he coached both Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, along with Derrick Moore and Josaiah Stewart. While three of them left from last season, Michigan still had a strong line with Moore coming back, along with interior guys like Rayshaun Benny, Damon Payne, and Tre Williams.

As far as Powell, Utah has had some really good defensive ends under his watch. Since coming back to Utah for his second stint, Powell has helped send eight Utah players to the NFL, including six of them being picked. Along with sending players to the league, Powell coached two All-Americans.

Powell’s All-Conference First Team honorees include Hunter Dimick (2016), Bradlee Anae (2018-19), Leki Fotu (2018-19), Mika Tafua (2021), Gabe Reid (2022), Jonah Elliss (2023) and Van Fillinger (2024). Aane (2019) and Elliss (2023) also were named consensus All-America.

Utah led the Pac-12 in rushing defense five times (2016, '18-21) and ranked in the top-20 in the FBS in each of its final six years in the league. Nationally, the Utes finished top-five or better in 2018, ’19 and ’23.

With both coaches working the defensive line this upcoming season, Michigan should only improve in 2026.

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