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Former Utah Utes, Florida, and Ohio head coach Urban Meyer knows what it feels like to coach at a program where winning is the only acceptable outcome. Now he is watching one of his former assistants step into that same world for the first time.
Meyer recently appeared on The Triple Option podcast and named five coaches to watch in 2026. Head coach Kyle Whittingham was number one on his list. Kyle was Meyer’s defensive coordinator at Utah. They coached together for two highly successful seasons.
“Coach Whit has been at Utah, and I love Utah, but Utah doesn’t have the same pressures that that other place has up north,” Meyer said on The Triple Option podcast.
Meyer spent years coaching at powerhouse programs. He knows exactly what those pressures feel like day to day. Utah gave Whittingham freedom to build and develop over time. Michigan does not work that way. The fanbase expects results from week one, and the margin for a slow build is extremely thin.
Meyer also addressed what happened in Ann Arbor before Whittingham arrived. The Sherrone Moore firing, the investigation, the instability. He did not sugarcoat it.
“What in the hell happened up there. That’s very un-Wolverine-like, what’s taken place there the last five years,” Meyer said on The Triple Option podcast. “Kyle loves his team, he loves his players, the quarterbacks have got to get much better.”
The rest of Meyer’s top five after Whittingham includes Jon Sumrall at Florida, Lane Kiffin at LSU, Matt Campbell at Penn State, and Curt Cignetti at Indiana. Each of those coaches is either new to their program or defending major expectations from last season.
Kyle Whittingham has already set the standard he expects at Michigan
Whittingham signed a five-year deal worth $41 million when Michigan hired him in December 2025. He has been direct about what the program should look like under his watch from day one.
“I expect to challenge for the Big Ten title every single year. That should be a given,” Whittingham said during the pre-spring practice press conference, per MGoBlue. “Every single year, we should be right there with the top teams. Playoffs are a lofty goal, but you can’t get there unless we do well in the Big Ten.”
Michigan’s athletic department projects a balanced budget of $266.3 million for the 2025-26 fiscal year. Whittingham’s roster budget could reach $40 to $50 million, giving him resources at a level he never had access to at Utah.
Meyer put him at number one for a reason. He also made clear the step up in pressure is real.
What do you think about Meyer’s take on Whittingham’s move to Michigan? Let us know in the comments.
