Fitzgerald is getting $4M/year...
Whittingham is a solid hire. He's 66, with zero midwest ties. How many years does he have in him? 4-6? with a year or 2 of cleanup, then 2 years to figure out how to beat OSU.
MSU needed someone with Midwest ties (Jonathan Smith couldn't recruit the midwest very well), and someone with booster support, which obviously Fitzgerald has. Whittingham is easily the better coach between the two. I don't love the Fitzgerald hire, but I don't dislike it, which is kinda how michigan fans seem to be with Whittingham.
- Half of Whitt's staff and analysts will have midwestern ties.
- We've got a strong NIL program.
- The assistants that are rumored to be coming with him are some of the best in the country.
- The boosters and alumni are damn near 100% cosigning this hire.
- We were one of the youngest teams in the country this year, and so far.. minimal exodus.
- Top 11 recruiting class coming in, not to mention whispers of Utah's top 1/2 recruits thinking about joining him in A2.
- Significant amount of guys will be available from both UT and BYU in the portal.
- This roster was constructed in a Harbaugh mold. Which is similar to how Whitt coaches.
Outside of how
brutal our schedule is next year.. this should be a DAMN good football team.