Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 19, 2022; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham congratulates Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning after a game at Autzen Stadium. The Ducks won the game 20-17.
If first-year Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham wasn’t already on the hot seat after a rough 5-4 start to his tenure, he may well soon be following Saturday’s game against Oregon.
Prior to the matchup with the Ducks, Whittingham offered a backhanded compliment to head coach Dan Lanning, noting that his job was easier due to Oregon’s seemingly limitless resources.
“It doesn’t hurt that you have $50-plus million at your disposal to, in essence, outbid everybody,” Whittingham said. “Not everybody, but a lot of people. But that’s not his fault. That’s a credit. I mean, that’s a credit to their program and their dedication and desire to win and the support they have. NIL is really the name of the game in recruiting these days. It’s shifted so much.”
Understandably, Lanning wasn’t too pleased with those comments and clapped back with a jab of his own.
“They’re spending more of their money on their coaches that they’re letting go, so maybe it makes it hard to sign players,” Lanning said. “But I know they’ve signed a couple of guys that we weren’t able to compete with what they decided to do, and maybe a lot of that money is tied up for them in another player. I don’t know. But Coach Whittingham is an unbelievable coach.”
That comment is a rough enough look for Whittingham. But things could be about to get much worse.
Michigan’s Kyle Whittingham May Have Cemented His Firing With Oregon Comments
On Saturday morning’s episode of ESPN “College GameDay,” host Rece Davis reminded everyone of the last time a head coach took a shot at Lanning and Oregon’s finances.
That was former Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy, just last year.
Rece Davis dropped this nugget on College GameDay about #Michigan HC Kyle Whittingham’s out-bid everybody remarks earlier this week… the last time a coach made remarks like that about Oregon and Dan Lanning, Oklahoma State lost 69-3 and 17 days later, HC Mike Gundy was fired. https://t.co/Xx0ekUyAqd
— Brice Marich (@BriceMarich) November 14, 2026
“I think Oregon spent close to $40 [million] last year alone,” Gundy said. “So, that was just one year. Now, I might be off a few million.
“Oregon is paying a lot, a lot of money for their team. From a nonconference standpoint, there’s coaches saying they should [play teams with similar budgets].”
What came next was a 69-3 throttling of the Cowboys at the hands of Lanning and the Ducks.
Seventeen days later, Gundy was out of a job. Lanning has already shown that he holds grudges. If that continues on Saturday, Whittingham may soon regret ever having said anything.