The fate of Michigan’s future has been hanging in the balance ever since Sherrone Moore got fired on December 10. And nobody’s been sweating it more than the Wolverines faithful. Bryce Underwood has had plenty of reasons to explore his options after the coaching change that upended the program. But on Monday, new Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham delivered some much-needed good news.

Whittingham didn’t guarantee anything, but his tone suggested he’s feeling confident about keeping Underwood in the fold. “I think Bryce is in a good place right now, and I think he might be getting an announcement here pretty soon,” Whittingham told $250 million Michigan booster Dave Portnoy during an appearance on Wake Up Barstool. “He seems to really enjoy his time here. And he’s one of the team leaders, he’s a young guy, but he’s one of the team leaders, obviously, by virtue of a position. So he is a guy that we think is going to be a part of what we’re doing going forward. But you never know until it’s a done deal.”

The speculation about Underwood potentially leaving Michigan has been swirling since the moment Moore got canned. The former five-star quarterback started all 13 games for the Wolverines as a true freshman in 2025, completing 60.3% of his passes for 2,428 yards with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Those numbers aren’t eye-popping. But they’re solid for a teenager playing in the Big Ten. And everyone around the program knows Underwood’s ceiling is sky-high. 

The problem is that Michigan paid well over $10 million in NIL money to flip him from LSU, and that investment was tied to Moore’s recruiting pitch. When Moore’s tenure imploded after just two seasons following Jim Harbaugh’s departure, it raised legitimate questions about whether Underwood would honor that commitment or explore greener pastures.​

LSU fans immediately started dreaming about a reunion after Moore’s firing. The issue is that LSU’s situation changed, too. Quarterbacks coach Joe Sloan, who’d built a strong relationship with Underwood, was let go after head coach Brian Kelly got fired in October 2025. That means Underwood would be walking into an entirely new coaching staff in Baton Rouge with new head coach Lane Kiffin, trying to rebuild everything.

For Michigan, the key selling point is that the NIL money that secured Underwood in the first place is still there. Dave Portnoy and the other deep-pocketed boosters didn’t go anywhere when Moore got canned. If Whittingham makes Underwood a priority, which he clearly has, the financial backing remains intact to keep him happy.​ Based on Whittingham’s comments to Portnoy, it sounds like the Wolverines are in good shape. But until Underwood makes that announcement “pretty soon,” nothing’s guaranteed in the wild world of NIL and the transfer portal.​

Whittingham’s Michigan rebuild comes at Boise State’s expense

While Kyle Whittingham was busy reassuring Dave Portnoy about Bryce Underwood’s future at Michigan, he was simultaneously raiding another program’s coaching staff to make that future work. On January 4, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that Boise State co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Tyler Stockton was leaving the Broncos to join Whittingham’s staff in Ann Arbor. 

Stockton is a four-time Broyles Award nominee who helped lead Boise State to the Mountain West championship and College Football Playoff Quarterfinal in 2024. But for Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson, it’s another blow to a staff that’s already lost co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Matt Miller to Washington State. Danielson had offered every assistant the opportunity to return after Boise State’s impressive playoff run, saying at his season wrap-up press conference, “We have a great staff. We’ve had multiple staff members this week turn down jobs because they want to be here.”

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Danielson acknowledged the reality of coaching turnover when he said, “Does that mean we’re going to keep everybody? I don’t know. But I do know we’re going to keep the right ones.” For Michigan, Stockton’s hiring is another piece of Whittingham’s plan to build a staff capable of developing players like Underwood and returning the Wolverines to national championship contention.