Urban Meyer Identifies His Must-Watch College Football Coach for 2026

College football legend Urban Meyer coached at the highest level of the sport for two decades. He's won three national championships, rebuilt programs from scratch and mentored dozens of coaches who have gone on to run their own staffs. So when Meyer picks one name out of the entire sport and says that coach is the one he wants to watch most in 2026, it carries weight.

On the latest episode of The Triple Option, the Fox Sports analyst revealed his top five coaches he is most excited to watch this fall. Curt Cignetti at Indiana, Matt Campbell at Penn State, Lane Kiffin at LSU and Jon Sumrall at Florida all made the list.

That left Kyle Whittingham, the first-year Michigan head coach and Meyer's former defensive coordinator at Utah, as the clear choice.

Why Urban Meyer is watching Whittingham closest in 2026

Meyer and Whittingham worked together at Utah during the Utes' undefeated 2004 season before Meyer left for Florida and Whittingham took over the program. The two have stayed close ever since. Whittingham even acknowledged at his December introductory press conference in Ann Arbor that he turned to Meyer for advice on assembling his new coaching staff, joking he wasn't sure if Meyer's name was "a four-letter word in this room or not."

That bond framed Meyer's pick during The Triple Option, but what makes him lean forward in his chair goes beyond friendship. Meyer wants to see how Whittingham handles the unique pressure that comes with coaching at Michigan, something no amount of success in Salt Lake City could fully prepare him for.

"Why I'm so interested, number one, it's Kyle. It's Coach Whittingham," Meyer said. "But it's also what in the hell happened up there, you know? That's very un-Wolverine-like what's taking place there the last few years."

Meyer did not mince words about the gap between Whittingham's old job and his new one, either.

"Coach Whit has been at Utah and I love Utah," Meyer said. "But Utah doesn't have the same pressures that that other place has up north."

Co-host Rob Stone then revealed that he is pushing to get Meyer and Whittingham together inside the Michigan coaches' office for a Fox Big Noon Kickoff feature during the Oklahoma at Michigan broadcast in Week 2. Meyer confirmed those conversations are already underway.

What's at stake for Michigan, Whittingham in 2026

Since winning the national championship in 2023, Michigan posted back-to-back seasons that fell short of the program's standard, going 8-5 in 2024 and 9-4 in 2025. Former head coach Sherrone Moore was fired in December after a university investigation revealed an inappropriate relationship with a staff member, followed by his arrest and criminal charges.

Whittingham, 66, was hired to clean up the mess. He signed a five-year contract averaging $8.2 million per year and brought 21 seasons of head coaching experience and a 177-88 record from Utah. A CBS Sports panel of experts recently ranked him the 10th-best coach in college football, a significant jump from where Moore landed (58th) in the same poll a year earlier.

Michigan opens with four straight home games, including Oklahoma in Week 2, then faces five of the top 14 teams in the sport, with road trips to Oregon and Ohio State in November and home dates against Penn State and Indiana in October.

Michigan Wolverines head coach Kyle Whittingham gives remarks following the spring game. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Bryce Underwood finished his freshman year with 2,428 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and a 60% completion rate, adding nearly 400 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the ground. Whittingham brought in offensive coordinator Jason Beck and quarterback coach Koy Detmer from Utah to develop him.

"I expect to challenge for the Big Ten title every single year. That should be a given," Whittingham said. "At Michigan, if you're not thinking about the Big Ten championship every year, then something is wrong."

The Wolverines open Whittingham's tenure against Western Michigan on Sept. 5 at Michigan Stadium, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

Add us as a preferred source on Google