Two old sayings in Michigan football are displayed prominently around the team facility: ‘Those Who Stay Will Be Champions’ and ‘The Team, The Team, The Team.’ Both were coined by the former late head coach, Bo Schembechler (1969-89), the winningest coach in program history whose name happens to be on the building, ‘Schembechler Hall.’

New head coach Kyle Whittingham didn’t come to Ann Arbor as a ‘Michigan Man,’ with ties to the university, but neither did Schembechler back in 1969 (in fact, Schembechler was a coach at Ohio State earlier in his career). Best believe Whittingham was watching from afar, though — when he wasn’t going 3-0 against the Wolverines as the head coach of Utah, with two wins in Ann Arbor — and understands the rich history and tradition the program has.

“First of all, this is everything that I expected and hoped it would be,” Whittingham said on the ‘In The Trenches’ podcast. “You see Michigan football on TV, and you hear about the tradition and the history, but to come here and first hand be able to see for yourself, it’s palpable.

“The history and tradition here are thick, and I’m not here to change or tamper with that in any way, shape or form. We’re going to embrace it, and our job here is to try to make this football team and this program as good as we possibly can and as competitive as we can. So far, it’s been great to work with these guys.”

A 66-year-old with an old-school flair, Whittingham’s coaching style isn’t all that different from what Michigan has had in the past with Schembechler or some of his disciples such as Gary Moeller, Lloyd Carr or Jim Harbaugh.

“Well, I can tell you, it’s very similar to Coach Schembechler,” Whittingham explained. “I’ve always been a fan of his, growing up watching it very closely. I read the book, Bo’s Lasting Lessons by John Bacon, so I’ve really got a lot of what we do culturally and philosophies and beliefs are right in line with Coach Schembechler. There are far more similarities than differences.

“The signage in the building is awesome. It’s like, hey, I read about this, and hear it is right in front of me. So, I would say that it’s going to be very, very similar to what Coach Schembechler did.”

Whittingham spent the last 32 seasons at Utah, including the previous 21 as the program’s head coach. He’s been in college coaching since his days as a graduate assistant at alma mater BYU in 1985, and hasn’t made the jump to the NFL at any point despite receiving interest.

“Well, I just love the opportunity to help shape and mold the lives of these young men, and if all we do is make them better football players, we fail,” the Michigan coach said. “We want to develop the entire person, and at the NFL level, that doesn’t really happen that way. They’re pretty well grown men and set in their ways. But these guys, at this age, are still very receptive to teaching them things and helping them prepare for life.

“My father was in the NFL for many years as a coach, and so he had seen both sides of it. And, at the time, he said that there’s no question collegiate football is the way to go. Now, with NIL and the portal and all that, it’s getting a little more complicated, and maybe the NFL is a little more — I don’t know what the term is — consistent. College football right now is in the state where it’s got to continue to change because it’s not sustainable, where we are right now. So, we’ll see where it ends up and where everyone lands in collegiate football.

“But the real reason is to hopefully change lives for the better.”

So far, so good. The reception from Michigan’s players have been positive, and they’re off to a strong start, by all accounts, in building for the 2026 campaign.

“We just got done with the winter conditioning phase,” Whittingham noted. “It was an ‘A+’ from our perspective as coaches, with the work and the effort that players put in. Our strength numbers were way up. Their attitude, their willingness was phenomenal. So, I would say, without a doubt it was a success, and we’re ready to go into spring ball now.”