Michigan Wolverines football is entering a new era in 2026, with Sherrone Moore fired and former Utah head man Kyle Whittingham in charge of the program after 21 years as the head coach at his previous school.
Moore was fired for having an inappropriate relationship with his executive assistant, Paige Shiver. While Michigan went 9-3 while Moore was in charge during the regular season, the Wolverines failed to cover the Vegas point spread in nine of 12 contests, winning most games but leaving fans dissatisfied with the overall level of performance.
It turns out, fellow Big Ten coaches noticed that Michigan had the chance to win at a higher level, and they believe the Wolverines are well-equipped to do so under Whittingham in 2026.
“I love that roster,” one anonymous Big Ten coach told Athlon Sports. “The second that Sherrone Moore was gone, they actually got to run that roster. There are four or five players in that freshman class who’ll contribute immediately, and they had a bunch of freshmen last year who contributed.”
The young talent Michigan possesses was a theme that came up across Athlon Sports’ conversations with conference coaches that gave anonymous quotes.
“The 2027 season was the target because they really liked that 2025 class, so the thought was to build it for that third year and focus on retaining those guys while bringing in younger players,” another coach said.
A batch of sophomores should lift Michigan’s passing game, which was lackluster both seasons under Moore. Quarterback Bryce Underwood and wide receivers Andrew Marsh, Jaime Ffrench and JJ Buchanan stand out.
“On offense, you’re gonna have Bryce, Andrew Marsh and Jaime Ffrench and JJ Buchanan out of the portal,” a third coach stated. “There’s a lot of excitement for what that team can be this year.”
The fourth anonymous coach believes Michigan can contend for the Big Ten championship, which it hasn’t won since Jim Harbaugh was in charge. The Wolverines were crowned champs each of his last three seasons from 2021-23.
“I think they can win the conference,” he said. “It’s not a group with a lot of household names, but there’s a lot of depth with really good players.”