The University of Michigan hired outgoing Utah coach Kyle Whittingham to lead the scandal-plagued Wolverines football program, the school announced Friday, a little more than two weeks after the shocking dismissal and arrest of coach Sherrone Moore.
Whittingham signed a five-year contract that runs through the 2030 season.
"Kyle Whittingham is a well-respected and highly successful head coach who is widely recognized as a leader of exceptional character and principled leadership," athletic director Warde Manuel said in a release. "Throughout our search, he consistently demonstrated the qualities we value at Michigan: vision, resilience, and the ability to build and sustain championship-caliber teams.
"Kyle brings not only a proven track record of success, but also a commitment to creating a program rooted in toughness, physicality, discipline and respect -- where student-athletes and coaches represent the university with distinction both on and off the field."
Whittingham announced two weeks ago that he was stepping down as the program's winningest coach -- though the 66-year-old didn't rule out coaching again.
It's been widely reported that Whittingham was leaving his post after more than two decades to make way for defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley, who had been hired in July 2024 as the "head coach in waiting."
Had Whittingham returned for the 2026 season, it would have marked a third year of Scalley as a named successor.
"We are honored to lead the outstanding student-athletes, coaches, and staff who represent Michigan Football each day," Whittingham said in a release. "Michigan is synonymous with tradition and excellence -- both on the field and beyond -- and our entire program is committed to upholding those values while striving for greatness together.
Michigan, major college football's winningest program, is seeking to right a ship that's been rocked by scandal.
The school announced on Dec. 10 that Moore was "terminated, with cause, effective immediately."
"Following a university investigation, credible evidence was found that Coach Moore engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member," the school said. "This conduct constitutes a clear violation of University policy, and UM maintains zero tolerance for such behavior."
After he was fired, Moore allegedly confronted the female staffer and threatened to harm himself, telling her "my blood is on your hands" and that she had "ruined my life," prosecutors said.
Moore, 39, was charged with home invasion, stalking and breaking and entering.
On Nov. 20, 2023, Michigan suspended football analytics assistant Connor Stalions after the school found that he allegedly had opponents' sidelines videotaped so that the Wolverines could decode signals.
Michigan dominated the Washington Huskies, 34-13, on Jan. 8, 2024, at NRG Stadium in Houston to win the national title -- though the sign-stealing scandal has taken some luster off that championship ring.
The NFL's Los Angeles Chargers hired Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh two weeks later.
Former assistant football coach Matthew Weiss was indicted and accused of breaking into the digital accounts of 3,300 students to download their intimate photos and videos, federal prosecutors said March 30.
The Wolverines, in hiring Whittingham, get a coach who has led a generally scandal-free program that's been winning two-thirds of its games without the glamour or resources of West Coast peers like USC and Oregon.
Whittingham was 177-88 (.668) at the helm in Utah with three 10-win seasons in the past five campaigns.
The No. 15 Utes are set to play Nebraska on Wednesday in the Las Vegas Bowl. Michigan will face No. 13 Texas that day in the Citrus Bowl.
It wasn't immediately clear whether Whittingham would bring any of his Utah assistants with him to Ann Arbor, a common practice when head coaches switch jobs in college football.