Paul Finebaum praises Michigan targeting Kyle Whittingham: 'He's a culture builder'

Outgoing Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham has emerged as the top target for the Michigan head coaching job, On3‘s Pete Nakos reports. On3’s The Wolverine first reported that Whittingham to Michigan was picking up steam Thursday night.

Whittingham announced he was stepping down after 21 seasons at Utah at the end of the regular season, joking he was now “in the transfer portal” just last week. ESPN’s Paul Finebaum addressed the potential move on Friday morning’s edition of Get Up, calling Whittingham to Michigan a “very good” move given his reputation as a “culture builder” who “brings respect back to a program that has lost almost all of it” following the latest scandal.

“I think it’s very good,” Finebaum said Friday morning. “Considering where this program has been, this is a pretty significant hire for a lot of reasons. Number one, he brings an enormous record of not just winning on the football field at Utah, but he’s a culture builder. He’s a physical football coach.

“You talk about culture … what program in America needs someone who is strong in culture more than the University of Michigan?” Finebaum continued. “So I think more than anyone else, he brings respect back to a program that has lost almost all of it. He brings integrity, and he also brings a very good football mind as long as he gets the right pieces around him, in terms of coordinators.”

Should he be hired at Michigan, Whittingham would succeed head coach Sherrone Moore, who was fired for cause earlier this month after a university investigation found credible evidence that he engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. Moore was then charged with home invasion in the third degree, stalking, and breaking and entering following an incident at the home of the female staffer he was reportedly involved with.

Prior to Moore’s hire at Michigan, former head coach Jim Harbaugh was issued a 10-year show-cause order, restricting him from all athletic activities between Aug. 2028-38. If any program in the country needs stability, it’s certainly Michigan.

Finebaum claims Michigan moved off Kalen DeBoer following Alabama’s CFP win

Along with praising Whittingham, Finebaum revealed that Michigan likely moved away from pursuing Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer following the Crimson Tide’s 34-24 victory over Oklahoma in the First Round of the College Football Playoff.

“If you had called me Friday night while I was in Norman and Alabama was down 17-nothing, I would’ve said ‘send the plane (for Kalen DeBoer) right now’ because the uneasiness and angst among Alabama fans was way up there,” Finebaum added. “As Kalen DeBoer and that team came back from that deficit and won the game, I think Michigan went completely off the board.

“They are going to board a plane in a couple of days for the Rose Bowl. Kalen DeBoer moved away from Michigan. But, I strongly believe that they would have written a blank check to get Kalen DeBoer up there.”

With DeBoer off the board, it appears as if Kyle Whittingham could become the sixth head coach at Michigan in the past 31 seasons.