Kyle Whittingham is continuing to build his Michigan staff in his own image. The former Utah head coach naturally borrowed a chunk of his staff from the Utes. Once again, he is returning to the same pipeline to bring a new offensive assistant to Ann Arbor.

Former Utah Utes QB Luke Bottari joined Michigan under Kyle Whittingham’s staff as the new offensive assistant coach.

“Excited to join the Offensive Staff at the University of Michigan!” wrote Luke Bottari on X. “Thankful for the Coaching opportunity at Utah… the school where I played, earned 2 degrees, and a place I called home. However, FIRED UP for the future!! Go Blue! Let’s get to work.”

Bottari played for Utah as a fifth-string quarterback, transferring from San Mateo to the Utes in 2022. He had limited playtime and was buried in the depth chart for most of his time. The QB graduated from Utah in 2024, completing 26 of 41 passes for a touchdown and carrying the ball for 45 yards for two touchdowns.

However, after losing his college eligibility, Bottari continued with the team, but in a different role. He joined Kyle Whittingham’s staff as an offensive graduate assistant for the 2025 season, following a similar path to Morgan Scalley, Isaac Asiata, and Chris Curry. They all started as graduate assistants under Kyle Whittingham before being promoted to DC, OL coach, and RB coach.

“After a short time as a defensive assistant, I am proud to announce that I have switched back to the offensive side of the ball in a GA position,” Bottari wrote on X during the transition from player to staff.

With one season of experience coaching at Utah, he will now be joining the Wolverines’ offensive staff, which is already filled with familiar faces from his alma mater.

Kyle Whittingham finalizes Michigan’s offensive staff

Michigan officially announced its offensive staff for Kyle Whittingham’s first season on January 8, but Luke Bottari came as a surprise addition. Bottari will join the offensive staff, led by offensive coordinator Jason Beck. He will be accompanied by offensive line coach Jim Harding, wide receivers coach Micah Simon, tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham, and quarterbacks coach Joy Detmer Jr. from Utah.

Apart from them, Whittingham also added Marques Hagans as the assistant wide receivers coach from Penn State and Mike Lynch as the assistant offensive line coach from Nevada.

The former Utes’ staff is occupying most of Michigan’s offensive role, which might look awkward but is widely viewed as optimistic. The Utes were the No. 5 scoring offense in the nation, averaging 41.4 points per game under OC Jason Beck. The program also ranked No. 6 in the country in total yards, averaging 478.6 yards per game. The running offense also had a massive boost, ranking No. 2 in the country, averaging 269.8 rushing yards per game. As a unit, Utah totaled 37 rushing touchdowns and led the nation with 6.1 yards per carry. At the same time, OL coach Jim Harding was seen as one of the top offensive line coaches in the country.

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Compare that to how Michigan fared last year, and it’s everything that the program would have liked in Bryce Underwood’s freshman season. However, the QB’s passing game didn’t develop as he had hoped, and to make matters worse, Sherrone Moore didn’t utilize his run game effectively. Kyle Whittingham has already identified issues in Underwood’s game that he can help with. For the Wolverines, after the Moore nightmare, it’s like the grown-ups have taken over.