The College of Michigan employed outgoing Utah coach Kyle Whittingham to guide the scandal-plagued Wolverines soccer program Friday, a bit of greater than two weeks after the stunning dismissal and arrest of coach Sherrone Moore.
This system introduced the hiring choice Friday night time and stated Whittingham’s 5 yr contract will run via the 2030 season.
Athletics Director Warde Manuel stated that all through the seek for a brand new coach, Whittingham “constantly demonstrated the qualities we worth at Michigan: imaginative and prescient, resilience, and the flexibility to construct and maintain championship-caliber groups.”
“Kyle brings not solely a confirmed monitor file of success, but in addition a dedication to making a program rooted in toughness, physicality, self-discipline and respect — the place student-athletes and coaches symbolize the college with distinction each on and off the sector,” he stated in a written assertion asserting the deal.
Whittingham introduced two weeks in the past that he was stepping down because the Utah’s winningest coach — although the 66-year-old did not rule out teaching once more.
It has been extensively reported that Whittingham was leaving his publish after greater than 20 years to make manner for defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley, who had been employed in July 2024 because the “head coach in ready.”
Had Whittingham returned for the 2026 season, it might have marked a 3rd yr of Scalley as a named successor.
“My household and I are thrilled to affix the College of Michigan group, and we stay up for serving to our gamers develop, develop, and attain their highest potential — on the gridiron, within the classroom, and as leaders,” Whittingham stated within the assertion. “It’s a privilege to be a part of one thing that conjures up satisfaction in each Wolverine fan.”
Michigan, main school soccer’s winningest program, is looking for to proper a ship that’s been rocked by scandal.
The college introduced on Dec. 10 that Moore was “terminated, with trigger, efficient instantly.”
“Following a college investigation, credible proof was discovered that Coach Moore engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a employees member,” the varsity stated. “This conduct constitutes a transparent violation of College coverage, and UM maintains zero tolerance for such conduct.”
After he was fired, Moore allegedly confronted the feminine staffer and threatened to hurt himself, telling her “my blood is in your palms” and that she had “ruined my life,” prosecutors stated.
Moore, 39, was charged with residence invasion, stalking and breaking and getting into.
On Nov. 20, 2023, Michigan suspended soccer analytics assistant Connor Stalions after the varsity discovered that he allegedly had opponents’ sidelines videotaped in order that the Wolverines may decode indicators.
Michigan dominated the Washington Huskies, 34-13, on Jan. 8, 2024, at NRG Stadium in Houston to win the nationwide title — although the sign-stealing scandal has taken some luster off that championship ring.
The NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers employed Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh two weeks later.
Former assistant soccer coach Matthew Weiss was indicted and accused of breaking into the digital accounts of three,300 college students to obtain their intimate photographs and movies, federal prosecutors stated March 30.
The Wolverines, in hiring Whittingham, get a coach who has led a typically scandal-free program that is been profitable two-thirds of its video games with out the glamour or assets of West Coast friends like USC and Oregon.
Whittingham was 177-88 (.668) on the helm in Utah with three 10-win seasons prior to now 5 campaigns.
Within the assertion, Michigan President Domenico Grasso described Whittingham as “precisely the suitable match for the College of Michigan presently.”
It wasn’t instantly clear whether or not Whittingham would convey any of his Utah assistants with him to Ann Arbor, a standard observe when head coaches change jobs in school soccer.
Whittingham’s deputies embody 14th-year cornerbacks coach Sharrieff Shah, whose student-athletes performed a key function in Utah’s sturdy cross protection this season.
Shah is married to former “Actual Housewives of Salt Lake Metropolis” star Jen Shah.
The No. 15 Utes are set to play Nebraska on Wednesday within the Las Vegas Bowl. Michigan will face No. 13 Texas that day within the Citrus Bowl.
