It really felt like nobody wanted to be Michigan's head football coach after Sherrone Moore was disgracefully fired on Dec. 10. Two of the program's top targets (Alabama's Kalen DeBoer and Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham) spurned a potential offer to stay at their respective homes.
Ultimately, long-time Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham emerged as the Wolverines' new leader. It was a surprising development considering many believed the 66-year-old was destined for retirement after announcing he would step down from his position after 21 seasons as a Ute.
Whittingham signed a five-year deal averaging $8.2 million per season with 75 percent guaranteed. That last part seems especially revealing given his age and the current state of Michigan athletic department leadership.
Kyle Whittingham looks like the right man for the Michigan job...
Utah went 177-88 under Whittingham's leadership, including a perfect 13-0 campaign in 2008 that catapulted the program to Power Conference status. He took over for Urban Meyer, who in two seasons impressed enough in Salt Lake City to earn the head coaching gig at juggernaut Florida.
While Meyer eventually had his own fair share of scandals in his post-Utah days, Whittingham seemingly became the saving grace of the program and acted as the steady, consistent hand many feared had already departed for Gainesville. Despite making clear when he announced his "stepping down" that he was not retiring, Whittingham appeared to be walking away a guaranteed future College Football Hall of Famer and one of a few head coaches with an unblemished legacy in college football.
That's all now at risk as he moves to Ann Arbor with a football program and athletic department in more turbulent waters than Lake Michigan in November.
"Michigan is synonymous with tradition and excellence -- both on the field and beyond -- and our entire program is committed to upholding those values while striving for greatness together," Whittingham said in a statement released by the university on Friday. "We look forward to helping our players grow, develop, and reach their highest potential."
Whittingham, by all accounts, is a good guy and a great football coach. On paper he seems to be just the man to right blue and maize ship but there are forces outside of his control that could tarnish his late-career (just ask Bill Belichick).
...But Whittingham risks his legacy with Michigan's rehab project
For one, Michigan's athletic department is undergoing a scrutinous investigation following Moore's termination and subsequent legal troubles. It's unclear how many officials, including athletic director Warde Manuel, will survive.
Whittingham will be tasked with holding together the team's roster with the transfer portal set to open on Jan. 2 and renewing the locker room culture. That shouldn't be too hard but getting the on-field product back to Jim Harbaugh standards (without the unscrupulous tactics) could prove tougher.
Michigan's fan base is also much, much less patient and forgiving as Utah's. Whittingham may get some grace in his first year but anything less than a return to the College Football Playoff and/or defeating Ohio State in subsequent seasons will be met with pitchforks and torches.
Will Whittingham be willing to tough things out and potentially risk being run out of town if he can't meet towering expectations in the Big Ten? Only time will tell but it would be a shame to see such a concrete figure in modern college football be taken down with a sinking ship that won't be remembered as fondly as the Edmund Fitzgerald.