After spending more than two decades as one of Bill Belichick’s closest men in New England, Berj Najarian is now headed to Michigan. With Kyle Whittingham reshaping the program off the field, too, bringing in Najarian as assistant general manager feels like a serious move for the future.

Najarian was never just another staffer in New England. For years, he handled the day-to-day work around Bill Belichick and helped keep football operations moving behind the scenes. That is what makes this hire feel bigger than a new title. Najarian is also not walking into an empty front office. Michigan had already turned to Dave Peloquin as general manager, so this move looks like part of a wider rebuild behind the scenes.

At Michigan, he will work closely with head coach Kyle Whittingham and will handle important work like planning strategy, managing contracts, and helping with negotiations. This role is very important today because college football now includes NIL deals, so teams need smart people to manage money, plans, and player agreements properly. His main job is to help build a strong system for the team, focusing on the “strategy for the new college sports landscape.”

This is not a ceremonial front-office job. Michigan brought him in to work on contracts, negotiations, and strategy, the kind of work that now shapes a roster almost as much as coaching does on Saturdays.

Teams now need people like him in the front office to stay competitive. Michigan is trying to build a system similar to NFL teams, and Najarian’s experience makes him a great fit for that. He would help organize everything better and take some pressure off the coaches, so they can focus more on coaching and improving the team.

Before coming to Michigan, Berj Najarian was at Boston College. After his move in December, many people expected him to join Bill Belichick at North Carolina, but that did not happen. Instead, he chose to take a new job at Michigan. When Bill Belichick took the job at North Carolina, Berj Najarian was already at Boston College.

One possible reason he did not go to North Carolina was because of Mike Lombardi, the general manager there. Reports said Najarian had problems with Lombardi when they were both with the New England Patriots, and Lombardi was later removed from his role, although he said he left by choice. Another reason could be that Najarian believed Michigan had a better future.

He may have felt there was more opportunity in Ann Arbor, where the program was just starting fresh under new leadership, compared to North Carolina, where the team could struggle, especially after their last season’s 4-8 record and constant media disruptions because of Belichick’s relationship and team chaos. This could have created uncertainty for Najarian in the future.

This doesn’t mean there was bad blood between Bill Belichick and Najarian. Even after Najarian left, he and Belichick still seemed connected. In April 2025, an email from Belichick included “Berj” as one of the people who received it. This made people wonder if they were still in contact and working together in some way. So, both seem pretty much connected. But he is not the only addition Kyle Whittingham made to the team.

Kyle Whittingham makes another major front-office hire

Michigan made several staff changes to improve its program. They brought in Dave Peloquin as the new general manager to replace Sean Magee. They also made a change in recruiting. Skylar Phan became the new director of recruiting after Sam Popper left to take an assistant general manager job at San Diego State.

Michigan also created a new position called assistant general manager. This shows the program is changing and growing, with more focus on better organization and modern roles in college football.

Michigan’s interest in Dave Peloquin first became known when John Brice reported it on Feb. 18. After the hiring process was completed, coach Kyle Whittingham officially brought Peloquin to Ann Arbor to take an important leadership role in managing the team’s off-field work.

Peloquin came in with a strong and varied background. Most recently, he worked as the intercollegiate division general manager at Athletes First, a well-known NIL agency. This job helped him understand NIL deals and how players are managed, which are very important in today’s college football.

Before that, he spent more than 20 years working with Notre Dame’s football program. From 2004 to 2023, he worked as the Director of Player Personnel, and from 2007 to 2013, he also handled player development, helping athletes grow both on and off the field. Now, let’s wait and see how this turns out for the team.