Kyle Whittingham could be fired after only one college football season as the head coach at Michigan. He has lost the fanbase.
A group of Wolverines waited outside of his postgame press conference on Saturday to heckle him.
Not only are the fans upset with Whittingham’s first season at the helm, it sounds like his college football players are also fed up. They reportedly showed their frustration with the current situation on the sideline throughout the loss to Oregon.
Kyle Whittingham also lost the locker room.
Michigan did not hire Kyle Whittingham to lead the football program through a gap year of transition or through a roster rebuild. He was hired to compete for a national title. Bryce Underwood is getting paid $12 million. The vast majority of Sherrone Moore’s roster remained in tact after his ouster.
And yet, the Wolverines dropped to 5-5 with a loss to the Ducks. They really should be 4-6 because they also lost to Western Michigan to begin the season…
The damage has been done and Whittingham’s days may be numbered. His players don’t believe in him.
According to the Rivalry Podcast, players were visibly dejected on the sideline on Saturday. Senior defensive back Rod Moore punched an equipment cart and yelled “I’m DONE!” Tight end Zack Marshall, who publicly criticized the coaching staff earlier in the season, hung his head low on the bench.
This shouldn’t surprise anybody. But something that was incredibly evident that maybe the TV broadcast didn’t capture during the game.
Whitt can deny the “lost the locker room” stories all he wants. But I was on the field yesterday. And the frustration was both public and clearly more than just a(nother) loss.
Watched Rod Moore punch an equipment cart and yell “I’m DONE!” as he exited. Saw the dejection from guys like Zack Marshall, infamously told “TE’s don’t matter in this offense.”
Witnessed Michigan fans yelling “What are you doing?!” at Whittingham, while Oregon fans yelled “Portal’s open!” at everyone.
— The Rivalry Podcast (@RivalryPod / X)
A video from the game also showed Whittingham stand on the opposite end of the field from his team during a timeout. Although Utah fans have said that he used to do the same thing in Salt Lake City, that does not make it any better.
Michigan defense getting ready to go out for its second drive pic.twitter.com/DsltDNluGn
— Clayton Sayfie (@CSayf23) November 14, 2026
From an outsider’s perspective, Whittingham seems detached and uninspired. It sounds like his players agree with that assessment.
Michigan fans want the college football coach to be fired.
A small contingency of Wolverines made the trip to Eugene on Saturday. They witnessed their team lose to the Ducks by 24 points. The offense totaled less than 100 yards passing, converted only four of 16 attempts on third and fourth downs, and fumbled twice. The defense gave up 31 points and allowed 467 total yards of offense.
Nothing went well on either side of the ball. Whittingham was distraught.
While the internet message boards burned, a group of Michigan fans decided to express their opinion in person. A video captured from inside the media room shows the local media’s reaction to a pretty brutal verbal barrage that came from outside of the tent.
I thought it might’ve been Oregon fans but a reporter for The Athletic said otherwise.
Needless to say, the Wolverines have already given up on their first-year head football coach. Kyle Whittingham could be fired sooner than later if the university decides to listen.