Michigan Wolverines have zeroed in on their next head coach – and they could be completely moved on from the Jim Harbaugh era soon

The Michigan Wolverines are inching toward hiring their next head coach.

Brandon Little — Ohio State Buckeyes & Cleveland Browns News Writer
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The Michigan Wolverines’ head coaching job came open on Dec. 10 in a shocking development when Sherrone Moore was fired for cause. This came just after the Wolverines finished the regular season with a 9-3 record. Flash forward to the day after Christmas, and the Wolverines are zeroing in on their next head coach. 

Michigan Wolverines are close to leaving the Jim Harbaugh coaching tree behind 

Keeping Moore around was the Wolverines keeping part of the Jim Harbaugh coaching tree around. While Harbaugh won at Michigan, there were plenty of off-the-field issues that came with the program at the time, and they continued into Moore’s tenure.

Now according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Dan Wetzel, Michigan is targeting Utah HC Kyle Whittingham to be their next head coach. Whittingham recently announced that he would be stepping down as the head guy at Utah after it played in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Whittingham is 117-88 as the head coach at Utah, and he’s been in that role since the 2005 season. Utah has gone 11-5 in bowl games during that time, and it’s hard to say that Whittingham hasn’t maxed out the capabilities of the Utah program in the current landscape.

Before Whittingham was the head coach at Utah, he came up as a defensive assistant with the Utes, joining in 1994. The veteran head coach is 66 years old and could be a good match to come in and realign the culture with the Wolverines. 

A deal is said to be one that could come as soon as this afternoon. Making a hire ahead of the Jan. 2 transfer portal window is key for the Wolverines so that they can navigate everything that comes with that. And it looks like Michigan is inching toward this coaching search coming to a halt.

Names like Kyle Dillingham, Kalen DeBoer, and Jeff Brohm all came up in this search. Whittingham looks to be the one who will be the next coach, as long as all goes through. 

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