Michigan Football: Losing to MSU should be the end of the Kyle Whittingham era

The Michigan Wolverines suffered an embarrassing, unacceptable 15-6 loss to the Michigan State Spartans on Saturday night at The Big House, and nobody should pay the price more for it than head coach Kyle Whittingham.

The soon-to-be 67-year-old has been in the game long enough to know when things aren’t going well. He has deflected blame from his coaching staff to his players even before the season began. Whittingham has stated numerous times it could take a couple years before Jim Harding has the offensive line the way he wants it to be. Whittingham also threw the previous strength and conditioning staff under the bus this past offseason, claiming they never had the players bench press.

The bottom line — Whittingham claimed they had a lot of work to do to get things in order.

Yet, the Wolverines were competing in meaningful games in November of last year under the previous coaching staff. This year’s games in November can only be classified as the exact opposite — meaningless. Of course, a win over Ohio State would still be incredible for so many reasons, but losing to this Michigan State team is straight up unacceptable and should call for the end of Whittingham’s time in Ann Arbor.

Whittingham was hired to be the adult in the room, the man who would bring discipline, stability and fundamentals to a program that had lost all three. Nine games into his first season, Michigan has none of them.

Whittingham’s Utah teams were rarely the most talented in their conference, but they almost never beat themselves. They tackled well, avoided penalties and protected the football.

This Michigan team has done the opposite. The Wolverines have been flagged at a rate that ranks among the worst in the country, and they own one of the worst turnover margins in college football. They nearly lost to Western Michigan as a four-touchdown favorite, then lost to Iowa and Minnesota as favorites in those games. Rod Moore told the media the team played “soft” in Week 1, and Whittingham used the same word after Penn State. Five weeks later, the same word still applies.

And Saturday night was the worst version of it. Michigan lost at home to a Michigan State team that was winless in the Big Ten entering this game and is now 3-6 overall. The Wolverines looked unprepared from start to finish.

Which is unacceptable and has a lot to do with this coaching staff. Michigan’s roster is not short on talent. This is a team with a blue chip ratio of 47.8 percent, one of the highest in the Big Ten. Talent does not explain losing to Minnesota, and it does not explain losing to Michigan State. Those are failures of preparation, discipline and in-game decision-making, and those belong to the head coach of the program.

I know the counterarguments to why Whittingham shouldn’t be let go so soon. It’s Year 1, the program is in transition, firing a coach after one season feels reactive, and the buyout would not be cheap. Michigan is also in the middle of an athletic director search and a presidential transition, and more instability is the last thing the department needs.

All of that is true, and none of it changes what this season has become. Whittingham’s age made it clear he might only be here for a few years anyways. Instead, Michigan got a team that looks like it hasn’t changed since the Sherrone Moore era. The same penalties, turnover problems and lapses in focus are all still there, now with a coach who looks ready to retire.

Michigan hired Whittingham to restore order, and that just hasn’t happened. After seven games, this team is as undisciplined as it was a year ago, and it just lost to its in-state rival at home as two-touchdown favorites.

At some point, the people making these decisions have to look at what is in front of them. Whittingham deserved a fair chance, and he has had one. What Michigan has gotten in return is a team that makes the same mistakes every single week.

The Michigan that won a national title three years ago never accepted that, and it shouldn’t now.