Perhaps one of the most unknown pieces of the new-look Michigan football coaching staff is linebackers coach Alex Whittingham. The son of head coach Kyle Whittingham, the progeny has spent his entire career working his way up through the NFL coaching ladder, having joined the Kansas City Chiefs as an outside linebackers assistant in 2018 while working his way up to assistant defensive line this past season.
Given that he was below the line, little is known about his prowess as a coach, but this week, in a video released by Michigan football, we now at least know a little more about his philosophy.
Whittingham shared how he sees the linebacking corps and what he hopes to see from them on a play-by-play basis.
“Within baseball, there’s the concept of a five-tool player that’s being able to hit for average, power, fielding ability, arm strength, and speed on the base paths,” Whittingham said. “I kind of stole that and converted it to how we look at it as linebackers and what we teach every day in our room is being able to communicate, being able to block the strut, get off blocks, being a cover guy that can cover man or zone, being able to be a pass rusher on certain downs when we ask you to off the edge or hit the A-gap, and then tackling.
“Tackling is probably the most important part. You can get yourself to the point of attack, and if you can’t finish the play, then you may as well not even be there.”
In a more overarching arena, Whittingham takes a lot of what his father has done in his decades of coaching college football and works to instill those lessons in his players. Because having been in the NFL, where everyone is quite literally a pro, the players act with a professional mindset. But in college, it’s not quite the same, Whittingham says, and that means some added emphasis on accountability compared to what he’s seen in the league.
“It’s a little different, accountability in the NFL versus college,” Whittingham said. “There’s more to be accountable for in college, but as far as the importance that’s placed on players, I think that has kind of been a trademark for Coach Whitt for a long time, is letting the players have that accountability for each other, for the program, for their respective units, and then getting them bought into that. That’s the best way to go about it because, as coaches, you want to guide them and give them a picture of what you’re trying to do, so it’s not just coaches yelling all the time, yelling all the time. Now the players are picking each other up and getting each other on the right path, and that’s what Coach Whitt tries to keep going.”
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan coach Alex Whittingham reveals his five tool philosophy for linebackers
Reporting by Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire / Wolverines Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire | USA TODAY Network
