Michigan football coach search latest news, names linked with job Matthew Glenesk, Andrew Birkle and Paul Myerberg, USA TODAYDecember 14, 2025 at 2:39 AM 0 Who will be the next Michigan football coach? Sherrone Moore's firing and arrest have cast the Wolverines' program into disarray. Biff Poggi will serve as interim coach and lead Michigan in the Citrus Bowl against Texas. Who takes over after that (and who gets to make that call) remains unclear.
- - Michigan football coach search latest news, names linked with job
Matthew Glenesk, Andrew Birkle and Paul Myerberg, USA TODAYDecember 14, 2025 at 2:39 AM
0
Who will be the next Michigan football coach?
Sherrone Moore's firing and arrest have cast the Wolverines' program into disarray. Biff Poggi will serve as interim coach and lead Michigan in the Citrus Bowl against Texas. Who takes over after that (and who gets to make that call) remains unclear.
Nearly all of the coaching vacancies have been filled, but a job as big as Michigan shouldn't be affected by the calendar — though ideally you'd want a new coach in before the transfer portal opens Jan. 2.
Here's the latest news and rumored candidates for the job:
HIT REFRESH FOR UPDATES.
1 / 4These college football coaches are on the move. See who found new homeVirginia Tech hired James Franklin as its next head coach. Franklin was fired earlier this season at Penn State. He replaces Brent Pry, who was fired midseason by the Hokies.Kalen DeBoer
Most pundits say Michigan's first call should be to Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer.
But according to ESPN's Pete Thamel, there's "no indication" DeBoer has interest in taking the job in Ann Arbor.
His players were asked about rumors as a distraction ahead of the Crimson Tide's College Football Playoff first round game at Oklahoma on Dec. 19.
"At the end of the day, (DeBoer) serves us 100%," Alabama star receiver Ryan Williams said. "That's our coach, so we're going to play for him. External noise is external noise, so we're going to focus on the internal."
DeBoer was also linked with the Penn State job before the Nittany Lions hired Matt Campbell.
"We are extremely happy at Alabama. ... We are extremely happy here," DeBoer said Dec. 4. "Love the grind, love this place. There's never been any link, there's never been any conversation, there's never been any interest either way. And so I'm glad we can put that to bed right now."
Toppmeyer: Michigan's hiring bar is Kalen DeBoer. Clear it, or hire him
Kenny Dillingham
It's still very early in the process, but a name that is starting to be connected to the Michigan opening quite frequently is Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham.
On Nov. 15, Dillingham addressed reports linking him to Penn State, Florida and other coach openings.
"I was never leaving, I never said I was leaving — this is home," Dillingham told the media. "You have to continue to push, and my job running the program is to push and push and push until you can't push anymore. And if I didn't do that, I'd be cheating my players. I'd be cheating my staff. I'd be cheating the fan base. I'd be cheating everybody in the city. I'd be cheating the local businesses that feed off of us winning, and then they sell more beer. I'd be cheating everybody."
College football analyst Josh Pate said on Kay Adams' show, Up and Adams, that Dillingham is a name to keep an eye on, a sentiment that author and Michigan insider John U. Bacon echoed Friday night, calling Dillingham the favorite.
Dillingham, 35, is in his third season as ASU's coach and has a 22-16 record, but most notably took the Sun Devils to the College Football Playoff last year and had Texas on the brink of an upset.
Jedd Fisch
Fisch previously spent two years as Jim Harbaugh's quarterbacks coach from 2015-16, did an outstanding job rebuilding Arizona over his three seasons and won eight games in his second year with the Huskies.
"We haven't spent any time focused in on what people are saying in the outside noise regarding me or other coaches on our staff," Fisch said Friday ahead of Washington's LA Bowl. "We know that's the world we're in right now. We know our players are being talked about or talked to from other teams, and we really just have to stay focused on the task at hand, which is a great game tomorrow. ... It's not a distraction that I'm talking about (with the team)."
Fisch, a Florida grad, was linked to the Gators job that went to Jon Sumrall, and has stated he's happy in Seattle.
"Those lists are made by people who have no idea what's going on, honestly. They don't know what's happening in our program," Fisch said last month. "They have no idea how excited I am about the youth in our program. … We love coaching at the University of Washington."
Kyle Whittingham
After 21 years leading Utah, Whittingham announced Friday he was stepping down as Utes coach after the Las Vegas Bowl. The Athletic's Stewart Mandel reported the 66-year-old Whittingham "is not retiring, and could seek other coaching opportunities."
Whittingham went 177-88 in his two decades in Salt Lake City. A BYU grad, Whittingham has spent his entire career coaching out West beyond the Continental Divide but would be a capable pair of hands to guide the Michigan program out of this mess.
Jeff Brohm
Brohm was connected to the Penn State search before stepping away to recommit to Louisville. While he's settled into a very secure situation with the Cardinals, Brohm was at the very least interested in the vacancy with the Nittany Lions and would seemingly be receptive to Michigan's overtures.
USA TODAY columnist Blake Toppmeyer writes Brohm has the big-game pedigree and Big Ten know-how the Wolverines could be looking for.
"Consider, a mere two weeks ago, Moore's Wolverines mustered nine points against Ohio State, despite starting a five-star quarterback," Toppmeyer writes.
"Think Brohm could do better? I know he could. In 2018, he shocked Urban Meyer's Buckeyes, while coaching Purdue. Purdue. As in, the program that lost to Ohio State by 56 points the last time it faced the Buckeyes before hiring Brohm.
"... I keep coming back to Brohm. He has Big Ten experience, and he won at Purdue in a way no one has since Joe Tiller's retirement.
"I don't know whether Michigan could persuade Brohm to leave his hometown and his alma mater, but I don't know that it could do any better than him."
Tommy Rees
Michigan is reportedly interested in talking to Rees, according to Cleveland.com, who starred as a quarterback at Notre Dame. He moved up the coaching ranks fast, getting his big break as offensive coordinator with Notre Dame in 2020, where he served in the role for three years before moving to Alabama to be the offensive coordinator for the Crimson Tide in Nick Saban's last year. He has spent the last two years with the Browns, first as a passing game specialist and then as offensive coordinator this year.
Rees also reportedly talked to Penn State before the Nittany Lions landed on Iowa State coach Matt Campbell.
Jesse Minter
Tapping into Harbaugh's coaching tree to hire Moore didn't work out well for Michigan. That may lead to some queasiness over hiring Minter, who was the defensive coordinator for the Wolverines from 2022-23 and then followed Harbaugh to the Los Angeles Chargers. But Michigan has historically placed intense value on connections to the program. That makes Minter a strong candidate, though he is also under consideration for NFL openings.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Michigan football coach search candidates latest news, rumors
Source: "AOL Sports"
Source: Sports
Published: December 13, 2025 at 02:27PM on Source: OPERA MAG
#ShowBiz#Sports#Celebrities#Lifestyle
