Whittingham and the 2026 Football Season

We have seen this in fairly recent history--Brady Hoke, Rich Rod--with bad teams and national embarrassment.  This is as bad or worse. It is still better than the kind of embarrassment caused by Sherrone Moore.

The quote attributed to Michigan offensive coordinator Jason Beck in leaked text messages from tight end Zack Marshall is that Beck met with the tight ends and "told us none of us are valuable to this offense." [1]

With AI's help that is the quote I was looking for.  But I want to go back a bit before that when I Googled something about players (and coaches) ability to speak up.  

 

• Whittingham’s Tight Ship: Kyle Whittingham is notoriously protective of his program's internal operations. In many football programs, coordinators are only allowed to speak to the press once a week or during specific designated windows.
• The "Crisis" Silence: With the offense currently ranking 105th nationally and the unit facing intense criticism over Beck's horizontal scheme, the program has purposefully shielded Beck from the media firestorm. Instead of letting coordinators field combative questions, Whittingham has taken the heat at the podium himself, stating that the offensive execution is "unacceptable"

 

Are there general strict rules about players talking?

Yes. When players sign their athletic scholarships, they agree to a strict team handbook. While they have the freedom to manage their personal social media, unauthorized media appearances (interviews not set up by the university's PR staff) are heavily penalized.

  

Stop right there. I'm not even going to look into the USC linebacker for strutting around after knocking out Oregon's Dante Moore. Or the horn for meeting times and those rules.The point is Kyle Whittingham is an autocrat but he is too wimpy to do it himself.  It is phony, self-preserving discipline and it sure doesn't translate to the field or the team very well. We've all seen the camera shots of Coach on the sidelines wincing and shaking his head on the sidelines.  He is powerless, and Hill and Beck are off somewhere else not with the team.

That is what we all thought--disciplined and stable. And now there is a significant problem because the team sucks and the season is over not quite halfway through. Indiana, Ohio State, and Oregon are not going to provide a turnaround.

The biggest What If about Whittingham was always what if these guys from Utah--coaches and players--cannot fit in with Big Ten Detroit style.  This is the age of the athlete, labor if you will, and if they don't like it at Michigan they will go someplace else.  Many pundits in the present tense are predicting a mass exodus.

The biggest recent development is the emergence of Jason Beck.  I still have never heard him speak and I had to search to find a picture of him.  Three million a year for three years, he is the highest paid assistant in college football.  What do I know?  Nothing of course, but he looks like an arrogant SOB.  One year at New Mexcio and one at Utah is unimpressive and I am always skeptical of the new wiz kid.

At one point I thought Whittingham was or is an excellent manager and humble guy.  And I assumed he is a stern, knowledgeable, excellent coach.  I remember him saying less rhino for instance; he doesn't seem to have control over anything.

Right now the only real option is schadenfreude, i.e.,  watch them suffer because they deserve it.  Anyone getting fired, that is not going to happen.  We are in for long-term suffering.  And remember, Michigan has no athletics director and management was all-in for retaining Manuel still and paying him a fortune.  

Buckle up!  It is going to be the KW show for a while.