One Power Four team in the state of Michigan has essentially already been eliminated from bowl contention (it would take a miracle) and one has a win over a ranked team this season.
Given that, you’d think the first-year coach on the hot seat would be Michigan State’s Pat Fitzgerald, but it is, in fact, not. He inherited a mess and will need some time to right the ship.
Folks in Ann Arbor are a little more checked out on their head coach, however.
Kyle Whittingham has received a ton of criticism for the way he’s been running the team this season and backing his offensive coordinator who Michigan fans feel has been nothing short of a disaster, and there’s apparently a good chance that the Wolverines move on from the Utah legend after just one season.
According to a CBS report, there’s talk behind the scenes that Whittingham could be fired as soon as this offseason considering Warde Manuel is on his way out and he was considered a “bridge hire” in the first place. He wasn’t expected to be at Michigan long term.
And he probably won’t be there much longer if Michigan continues to struggle.
Whittingham has already let the offense get to “too far gone” levels of incompetence and he’s benched his former five-star, multi-million dollar quarterback for a freshman. The Wolverines are 4-3 and probably a play away from 5-2 with a win over Indiana, but they’re also a play (and an extra second) away from being 3-4 with a loss to Western Michigan.
Things have not gone swimmingly in this new era under Whittingham and it’s pretty clear that he’s not the right fit for the job.
You know it’s bad when Michigan fans are giving up on you after half a season.
The report is interesting because where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
The Michigan vs. Michigan State rivalry hasn’t felt real in years
Of course part of the reason the football rivalry has gotten stale is because Michigan State has been so bad, but it’s also due to the constant changing of coaches on both sides.
Michigan went from winning a national title under Jim Harbaugh to Sherrone Moore who crashed and burned in public fashion and then to Whittingham who looked like he was ready for retirement after leaving Utah. He’s giving major Monty Williams with the Pistons vibes — if you know, you know.
There hasn’t been enough hate there toward Michigan State from the past two coaches, especially not Whittingham who’s been avoiding the word “hate” pertaining to his rivals.
Fitzgerald is the latest in a string of coaching changes in East Lansing, too, as Mel Tucker (2-1 vs. Michigan) gave way to Jonathan Smith for a couple of years. The Spartans have shuffled through three coaches since Mark Dantonio retired and that’s a big reason why they’ve struggled so much and the rivalry has been dead.
Fitzgerald feels like the guy who will bring it back, but it sounds like Michigan may be looking for their third head coach since Harbaugh left this offseason.
Football in the state of Michigan has been gross lately.
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