Michigan Football Staff Purge
Michigan parted ways with GM Sean Magee, Director of Recruiting Sam Popper, and Albert Karschnia under new head coach Kyle Whittingham in the first major front-office shift. Magee was the architect of Michigan's NIL and roster model, making this a significant restructuring of the program's foundation.
- The staff changes occurred under new head coach Kyle Whittingham, who was hired on December 26, 2025, following the firing of Sherrone Moore. Moore had been promoted to head coach in January 2024 after Jim Harbaugh's departure to the NFL. - Sean Magee, who was let go, had re-joined the Michigan program in March 2024 as general manager and was instrumental in revamping the team's NIL program. His efforts were key in securing the commitment of top-ranked 2025 quarterback Bryce Underwood. - Sam Popper, the former Director of Recruiting, has since accepted a position as associate general manager at San Diego State. He was considered a rising star in recruiting and played a crucial role in building Michigan's 2026 recruiting class. - Albert Karschnia, the departing Director of Player Personnel, was responsible for overseeing all of the team's high school recruiting efforts. He had been in a recruiting operations role with the program since December 2021. - The front-office purge is part of a larger staff overhaul by Kyle Whittingham, who is bringing in his own personnel. Many of the new coaching hires have ties to Whittingham's previous tenure at Utah. - This restructuring follows other recent staff changes under Sherrone Moore, who had dismissed the special teams coach in December 2025 and the offensive coordinator earlier that same month.
