What Would Make a Successful Year 1 for Kyle Whittingham at Michigan Football

After 21 seasons as the head coach of the Utah Utes, Kyle Whittingham is now entering a new era of his coaching career. Following the firing of Sherrone Moore after two seasons, Whittingham is now the new head coach of the Michigan Wolverines.

The Wolverines enjoyed three consecutive seasons of making the College Football Playoff from 2021-23 under Jim Harbaugh. In his final season in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines won the national title in 2023 after crushing Washington.

Whitingham's goal in Year 1 will be to get the Wolverines in the 12-team playoff — something Michigan has yet to do. According to CBS Sports, a successful first year for Whittingham would be to either make the CFP or beat rival Ohio State.

"Whittingham was never able to get Utah into the playoff, but that'll be the expectation with his new job in Ann Arbor. Michigan was in the playoff hunt a year ago despite obvious issues involving former head coach Sherrone Moore percolating behind the scenes. Whittingham should bring toughness, discipline and a more organized approach to a Michigan program that has big-time talent like Bryce Underwood."

Developing Bryce Underwood will be the key

With any good College Football Playoff team — you need a good, capable quarterback. There is no denying the potential that rising sophomore Bryce Underwood has. He was the former No. 1 rated player in the 2025 class.

But the 2025 season had ups and downs for Underwood. At times, you flashed the five-star potential, and other times, the game appeared to be too fast and Underwood was seen throwing off his back foot way too many times.

If Michigan is going to get through the gauntlet of the Big Ten and win big games this season, Underwood will need to be developed properly. Whittingham brought over former Utah QB coach Koy Detmer Jr. to do just that.

Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood (19) runs against Central Michigan. — Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"You know, first of all, from what I understand, there was no dedicated quarterback coach working with him on a daily basis," Whittingham told Urban Meyer back in January. "Which has to happen when you get a young, young man, 17 years old, he didn't turn 18 till like mid-season.

"And so he's a guy that really could have been in high school last year as far as his age. But, there's some things in throwing mechanics and the -- just seems to smooth out in his fundamentals and technique. And we're already got a good start on that.

"And Jason Beck and Koy Detmer, outstanding quarterback developers and coaches. So we're already going down that path, but you talk about a ton of upside and Bryce Underwood's got it all. He's 6-foot-4 and 225 plus and has a cannon arm.

"And so he's, he's the whole package. We just got to get him refined."