The Michigan football program had to pivot quickly, following the firing of head coach Sherrone Moore on Dec. 10, but it appears the Wolverines are viewed as landing on their feet.
New head coach Kyle Whittingham, who led Utah for for 21 seasons, is No. 10 in CBS Sports’ rankings of the 68 Power Four head coaches ahead of the 2026 season, unveiled Wednesday morning. Michigan State’s Pat Fitzgerald, who also will make his debut with his new program in the fall, is at No. 43 in voting among CBS Sports college football writers.
Michigan officially added Whittingham on Dec. 27 — four days before the Wolverines faced Texas in the Citrus Bowl — after terminating Moore for an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. Whittingham compiled a 177-88 record at Utah, leading the Utes to three conference titles between the Mountain West and Pac-12.
He takes over a Michigan program that finished 9-4 last season, and won a national championship just three seasons ago.
“Kyle Whittingham didn’t want to leave Utah, but he probably can’t feel too bad about where he ended up” Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports writes. “Whit has long been either in our top 10 or just on the periphery of it, so this spot is not a result of him being at a blue-blood program. However, like Matt Campbell at Penn State, I wonder how he’ll be judged going forward, given the very different expectations at his new job than at his last gig.”
Whittingham is one of four Big Ten coaches in CBS Sports’ top 10, which is led by Indiana’s Curt Cignetti in the top spot.
Michigan State, meanwhile, fired head coach Jonathan Smith on Nov. 30 after two seasons leading the Spartans and quickly moved on to Fitzgerald, who guided Northwestern for 17 seasons before he was fired before the 2023 season. Fitzgerald went 110-101 overall, and 65-76 in the Big Ten, registered three seasons in which the Wildcats won at least 10 games, and two in which they won the Big Ten West.
“Pat Fitzgerald returns to the Big Ten sidelines at Michigan State this year, and the move offers many varying opinions,” Forneill writes. “Only two coaches (Jedd Fisch and Pete Golding) saw a wider range of finishing spots on our ballots. Fitz ranged from 30th to 56th. Where you place him probably depends on how you view the end of his tenure at Northwestern. You either respect what he did early in his tenure or look at the last few seasons and wonder if he knows how to win in the current landscape. The good news is we’ll all have a better idea of how to answer these questions a year from now.”
Whittingham will make his Michigan debut Sept. 5 at home against Western Michigan. Fitzgerald will coach his first game for Michigan State at home against Toledo on Sept. 4.
Other notables in CBS Sports’ rankings:
West Virginia’s Rich Rodriguez, the former Michigan head coach, is at No. 54.
Pittsburgh’s Pat Narduzzi, the former Michigan State defensive coordinator, is at No. 35.
Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck, the former Western Michigan head coach, is at No. 33.
Washington’s Jedd Fisch, who was part of Jim Harbaugh’s coaching staff at Michigan in 2015 and 2016 as quarterbacks/receivers coach and pass-game coordinator, is No. 32.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: See where Kyle Whittingham, Pat Fitzgerald sit in CBS Sports Power Four coach rankings
Reporting by Daren Tomhave, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
