Despite being 66 years old, Kyle Whittingham is forward-thinking. And he’s not just thinking about the future, but how to operate in a world where college football is shifting, changing, and evolving.
Before he even took the Michigan football head coaching job, the transfer portal became a thing and took off in a big way. NIL emerged and is now a massive part of recruiting, retaining, and getting players out of the transfer portal.
Speaking to Rick Pizzo on Big Ten Network on Monday, Whittingham shared his philosophy as it pertains to the new college football landscape and why innovation is key for the Wolverines.
“You either embrace that change, or you embrace irrelevancy. And that’s the long and short of it,” Whittingham said. “And the portal’s been around for a few years now, as has NIL, and it has definitely changed the game. I think there’s bigger changes on the horizon or more changes of great magnitude. And it’s just, like I said, you either adapt or die. I mean, there’s no other alternative.”
At the moment, Michigan football is knee deep in recruiting, with one more week of official visits remaining, with this weekend being the big one — Victor’s Weekend. After nearly a month of hosting top-tier recruits, Whittingham is looking to close the 2027 class with a bang.
He shared more about his thought process there, as well as how he attacked everything once he got to Ann Arbor and started getting to work. While he has some minor regrets, he likes the current trajectory of the program.
“Recruiting is never a check off the list. It’s 24-7 every day of the year, but I feel like we’ve done a really nice job getting a good start on the ’27 recruiting class,” Whittingham said. “I think backing up even further, I think we did a really good job retaining talent on the roster. Anytime you go through a coaching change, and especially one that has a little bit of drama to it, there’s a lot of opportunity for exodus of players, but I think we hung on to a good portion of those guys. We lost a few guys we wish we wouldn’t have, but overall, I think we did a really good job of retention.”
Michigan is currently in summer conditioning, with fall camp set to begin on August 1 with eyes on the September 5 season opener.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham says adapt or die
Reporting by Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire / Wolverines Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire | USA TODAY Network
