Kyle Whittingham is counting on familiarity as he begins his stint with the Wolverines. The new head coach hinted at a significant shakeup in the coaching staff with the arrival of individuals he has previously worked with. However, this change was bound to come at a cost.

According to MLive’s Aaron McMann report, former Michigan assistants Ron Bellamy, Steve Casula, Brian Jean-Mary, Wink Martindale, LaMar Morgan, and Grant Newsome were not retained in Kyle Whittingham’s 2026 coaching staff.

Ron Bellamy was on the Michigan staff since 2021, first years with the safeties and four seasons as the wide receivers coach. Throughout his tenure, he developed two wide receivers to All-Big Ten status. In addition to his coaching duties, Bellamy was also one of Michigan’s best recruiters. That means that there could be some transfers. 

Regardless, Bellamy will be replaced by Micah Simon, who served as Utah’s wide receivers coach last season. 

Steve Casula has been on the Wolverines staff since 2019. He first served as an Offensive Analyst and was later elevated to Senior Analyst after the 2020 season. During his tenure, he helped the team to a 12-2 record and Michigan’s first College Football Playoff appearance. He was Michigan’s TE coach and co-offensive coordinator and also the interim OC for the 2024 ReliaQuest Bowl and for the 2025 Citrus Bowl. Casula was an elite recruiter for the program.

However, he will now be replaced by Freddie Whittingham, Kyle’s brother, who served as Utah’s tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator for ten seasons.

Brian Jean-Mary, Michigan’s linebackers coach and defensive run game coordinator for two seasons, will not be retained on the staff. However, his replacement has not been revealed yet.

Further, with the hiring of Jay Hill as Michigan’s defensive coordinator from BYU, Wink Martindale was released from his role. Martindale was the architect of the Wolverines’ defense for the last two seasons. He helped the Wolverines rank 10th nationally in total defense. Under his supervision, the defense was highlighted by a No. 5-ranked rushing defense in 2024.

After two seasons as the Wolverines’ DB coach and defensive pass game coordinator, LaMar Morgan was not retained on the staff. He played an important role in improving Michigan’s defense and developing second-team All-American Will Johnson. He has also been a good recruiter. His replacement has not been made official yet.

Joining them was the fourth-season assistant coach and the Wolverines’ fourth-season OL Grant Newsome. He has been in Michigan’s program since 2015 and served in different roles, including graduate assistant, student assistant, and tight ends coach, before taking over the OL coaching role. He will be replaced by Jim Harding from Utah, who coached a pair of the first season All-Big 12 OL, Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu. Both are projected to be the first-round pick of the 2026 NFL Draft.

While most of the coaching staff at Michigan was replaced by Kyle Whittingham’s previous ties, he also retained a few of the existing staff members.

Only three existing Michigan staff members retained

Kyle Whittingham, in his introductory speech at Michigan, made it clear that he did want some staff members to be retained. “I’m not precluding the chance that we won’t keep some coaches on the current staff,” said Kyle Whittingham after arriving at Ann Arbor. “There are some excellent coaches on the staff right now. Most likely, there will be a few faces that stay and help bridge that.”

With that being said, he had retained three of the existing staff for his first season with the Wolverines. The retention includes the special teams coordinator, Kerry Coombs; defensive end coach, Lou Esposito; and running backs coach, Tony Alford. 

Kerry Coombs was hired as the special teams coordinator just weeks before Sherrone Moore’s firing. He coached the Wolverines in their Cheez-It Citrus Bowl loss to Texas on Dec. 31, and his unit looked exceptional. Though kicker Dominic Zvada did miss a field goal, Michigan’s blocking, punting, and return game were all improved under Coombs’ leadership.

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Despite hiring Lewis Powell from Utah as the DL coach, Whittingham also retained Lou Esposito for the same position. Esposito led one of the most productive units and is also an elite recruiter, including this past cycle. However, there is no official information on who will make calls.

Then, there is Tony Alford, who led the Wolverines’ running back room for the past two years and is one of the ace recruiters. He was instrumental in the acquisition of Jordan Marshall, Justice Haynes, Kalel Mullings, and five-star running back Savion Hiter.

As Whittingham mentioned that there would be only “two or three holdovers,” it is unknown if the retention is done or if there will be any others in the upcoming days.