Whittingham Announces Offensive Coaching Staff
1/7/2026 12:36:00 PM | Football
• Jason Beck Named Michigan's Sanford Robertson Offensive Coordinator (Jan. 2)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Head Football Coach Kyle Whittingham announced Wednesday (Jan. 7) the hiring of his initial offensive coaching staff during his initial season leading the Wolverines' program.
In addition to Friday's (Jan. 2) announcement of Jason Beck as Michigan's Sanford Robertson Offensive Coordinator, Whittingham has hired four offensive coaches from his previous Utah staff: Jim Harding (offensive line), Micah Simon (wide receivers), Freddie Whittingham (tight ends) and Koy Detmer (quarterbacks). Marques Hagans (assistant wide receivers) and Mike Lynch (assistant offensive line) are also joining the staff from Penn State and Nevada, respectively.
Whittingham has retained Tony Alford from the previous staff as the program's running backs coach and run game coordinator. In addition, Fred Jackson will remain on staff as an analyst with the running backs.
Following are biographical sketches on each of the new members of Michigan's football staff:
Jim Harding, Donald C. Graham Offensive Line Coach
A Maumee, Ohio, native, Jim Harding returns to the Midwest after establishing Utah's offensive line into one of the best in the country. He spent the past 12 seasons as Utah's offensive line coach and has served as the Utes' assistant head coach since 2017. Harding also spent two seasons as the co-offensive coordinator (2015-16).
Harding has helped send 13 offensive linemen to the NFL, including six draft picks, highlighted by 2017 first-round selection Garrett Bolles (20th overall, Denver Broncos), the highest-drafted OL in Utah history.
Under his direction, 11 players achieved first-team All-Pac 12 or All-Big 12 honors, including 2025 Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year Spencer Fano. Fano became the Utes' first Outland Trophy winner in 2025 and earned consensus All-American honors after picking up second-team recognition in 2024.
The rushing attack produced 30-plus touchdowns four times between 2019-25, ranking top-five in the FBS in 2021 (37 touchdowns), 2022 (38) and 2025 (41), when the team ranked second in the nation in scores via the ground game.
His offensive lines blocked for a 1,000-yard rusher in eight of 12 seasons during his time in Salt Lake City, including a stretch of six straight seasons with a 1,000-yard rusher (2014-19). Utah backs Devontae Booker (Maxwell Award, Doak Walker Award semifinalist), Joe Williams (Utah-record 156.3 rushing yards per game in 2016), Zack Moss (Utah-record 4,067 career rush yards; five other program records) and Tavion Thomas (Utah-record 21 rushing touchdowns in 2021), among other players, achieved great success behind Harding's offensive lines.
Prior to joining the Utah staff, Harding was the offensive line coach at Wyoming for five seasons (2009-13). The Cowboys allowed just 12 sacks in 2011, which ranked 11th nationally, and center Nick Carlson was a three-time All-MWC selection. Harding also served as the run game coordinator for the Cowboys in 2012. He was promoted to co-offensive coordinator in 2013, when Wyoming finished No. 22 in FBS in total offense (472.8 ypg).
Harding earned his first college coaching opportunity at Missouri, where he was an offensive graduate assistant coach from 2002-04. He embarked on a coaching career at Troy Athens High School in Michigan, serving as the head coach and defensive coordinator in 2008 after spending three seasons as the school's defensive coordinator.
A four-year starting offensive tackle at Toledo (1997-2000), Harding set a school record with 46 consecutive starts. He was a first-team all-Mid-American Conference selection in 2000, when he captained a team that finished with a 10-1 record and a No. 25 ranking in the final national polls. The Rockets won or shared three MAC West Division titles in Harding's four seasons, winning the 1997 and 1998 titles outright and finishing as co-champions in 2000.
He earned his bachelor's degree in secondary education from Toledo (2001) and completed his master's degree in career and technical education at Missouri (2004).
Harding and his wife, Meredith, have two sons, Colton and Jackson.
Micah Simon, Wide Receivers
Micah Simon joins the Michigan staff as wide receivers coach after serving in the same role at Utah in 2025. Ryan Davis earned All-Big 12 honorable mention after leading the team in receiving with 62 receptions for 725 yards and four touchdowns.
He coached the receivers at New Mexico during the 2024 season. Simon coached Luke Wysong to All-Mountain West honors after he finished in the top 10 in the MWC in receptions and receiving yards per game and ranked No. 19 in FBS in receptions per contest. Simon helped the Lobos offense rank tops in the MWC and fourth nationally in first downs.
Before joining the staff in Albuquerque, he was the receivers coach at Northern Colorado in 2023. Simon was an offensive analyst under Beck at Syracuse in 2022, working with the receivers and quarterbacks.
A former receiver at BYU (2015-19), Simon saw action in 36 career games. He caught 89 receptions for 1,109 yards and five touchdowns during his career.
Simon graduated from BYU with a bachelor's degree in exercise science in 2019.
Freddie Whittingham, Tight Ends
Freddie Whittingham comes to Ann Arbor after serving as Utah's tight ends coach for the past 10 seasons. In addition to his on-field coaching role, he spent 13 years helping develop the Utes' roster as the recruiting coordinator and director of player personnel.
Utah's tight ends were integral to the offense's success as they deployed two- and three-tight end sets. The tight ends have been key in helping the Utes finish three of the past seven seasons atop the conference in rushing offense while accounting for 67 total touchdowns during that time.
Out of 18,120 yards produced in the passing game over the past six seasons, the Utes' tight ends accounted for 36 percent of the yardage, with a tight end leading the team in receiving yards in three of the last seven years. A Utah tight end has caught at least one pass in 108 of the last 109 games under Whittingham's leadership. In 2025, the tight ends accounted for 88 receptions for 1,153 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Brant Kuithe was a four-time all-conference performer under Whittingham, earning first-team All-Big 12 in 2024 and second-team All-Pac-12 three consecutive seasons (2019-21). He was also named to PFF's All-American third team in 2019. Dalton Kincaid received first-team All-Pac 12 honors in 2022 after receiving honorable mention accolades the previous season.
He became Utah's recruiting coordinator in 2016 and assumed those duties through the 2025 season.
Whittingham played an important role in the Utes' recruiting efforts as the director of player personnel (2012-15) as well as overseeing camps and clinics and served as the program's NFL liaison.
Whittingham has a rich history in coaching. His father, the late Fred Whittingham Sr., was a 20-year veteran of NFL and college coaching, including six seasons at Utah. His brother, Kyle, is Michigan's head coach after 32 seasons at Utah, and his brother, Cary, was a successful high school coach.
Prior to working in college football, Whittingham was involved in higher education. He spent nearly 20 years with the McGraw-Hill companies and Simon & Schuster as a sales and marketing executive in the publishing industry.
Koy Detmer, Quarterbacks (Analyst)
Koy Detmer joins the Michigan Football program as the quarterbacks coach after serving as an analyst and quarterbacks coach at Utah in 2025.
He worked with offensive coordinator Beck at New Mexico (2024) and Syracuse (2022-23), serving as an offensive analyst aiding in the development of the quarterbacks. He helped with analytics, pregame preparations and scouting.
Detmer coached two seasons at his alma mater, Texas A&M Kingsville, where he mentored the wide receivers (2021) and running backs (2020).
As a player at Kingsville, Detmer passed for 3,831 yards and 32 touchdowns over two seasons (2018-19), completing 59-percent of his passes. He was an All-Lone Star Conference selection in 2018. Detmer owns a handful of records in program history for the Javelinas as he threw for 450 yards in a 45-33 loss to No. 4 Tarleton on Oct. 26, 2019. It was only the second time a Javelina quarterback threw for at least 450 yards.
A Somerset, Texas native, Detmer earned his bachelor's degree from Texas A&M Kingsville in 2020 after previously spending two seasons at BYU. He is the son of former NFL player, Koy Detmer.
Marques Hagans, Assistant Wide Receivers (Analyst)
Marques Hagans brings 16 years of experience to the Michigan staff, including the last 13 as a wide receivers coach. He joins the staff following a three-year run at Penn State, where he worked with the wide receivers and served as the recruiting coordinator for the offense.
Before his time with PSU, Hagans spent 12 years at his alma mater, Virginia, first as a graduate assistant (2011-12), then as wide receivers coach (2013-22). He was associate head coach in his final season with the Cavaliers.
Hagans has worked with eight NFL players during his career, including three draft selections: Malik Washington (2024, sixth round, Miami Dolphins), Dontayvion Wicks (2023, fifth round, Green Bay Packers) and Joe Reed (2020, fifth round, Los Angeles Chargers).
At Virginia, Hagans coached 10 of the top 15 career receptions leaders in program history, including Olamide Zaccheaus, the program's single-season (93 catches) and career receptions leader (250 catches, sixth in ACC history). Zaccheaus' 2,753 career receiving yards ranked second all-time in UVA history at the end of his career, and his single-season total of 1,203 yards in 2021 set a single-season program mark.
Under his direction, six different players combined for eight All-ACC honors, including three first-team recognitions for Isaiah Ford (2015), Zaccheaus (2018) and Wicks (2021).
Hagans began his collegiate career as a quarterback at Virginia, and later played wide receiver and returned kicks. He graduated in 2005 with a degree in anthropology and finished his career top-10 all-time at UVA in total offense. He earned an NFL opportunity as a wide receiver in the 2006 draft, being selected in the fifth round by the St. Louis Rams. He played two years with the Rams and also had stints on practice squads and active rosters with the Kansas City Chiefs, Indianapolis Colts (2008) and Washington Redskins (2008-10).
Hagans and his wife, Lauren, have two sons, Christopher and Jackson.
Mike Lynch, Assistant Offensive Line (Analyst)
Mike Lynch joins the Michigan staff after spending the past two seasons as at Nevada (2024-25). He was the offensive line coach during the 2025 season after working with the running backs in his initial season with the team. During his career, Lynch has worked with every position group during his coaching career.
Prior to joining the staff at Nevada, Lynch was a member of the Syracuse coaching staff for eight seasons (2016-23). He served as offensive coordinator during the 2018-19 seasons after sharing the offensive coordinator duties and leading the offensive line during the 2016-17 seasons.
At Syracuse, Lynch was the running back coach for a unit that rushed for the fifth-highest yardage total in program history, gaining 2,562 yards in 2021. The rushing attack was led by Sean Tucker, who ran for a program-record 1,496 yards and ranked fourth in the country with 124.7 rushing yards per game. Tucker, a two-time All-ACC selection, would finish his career third all-time at Syracuse with 3,182 rushing yards.
In his first year as sole offensive coordinator, Lynch directed a 2018 Syracuse attack that propelled the program to its first double-digit win season in 17 years and the No. 15 final ranking in the Associated Press Top 25 and Amway Coaches polls. Behind record-setting quarterback Eric Dungey, the Orange ranked 11th nationally in scoring (40.2 ppg) and set the school records for season plays (1,063) and points (523). The Orange tied the program mark with 62 total touchdowns, including a record 38 rushing scores. After the season, Lynch pupil Dontae Strickland signed as a free agent with the Arizona Cardinals.
Lynch joined the Syracuse staff after helping direct an explosive offense at Bowling Green. As the co-offensive coordinator, as well as the offensive line and running backs coach in 2015, the Falcons ranked in the top 10 nationally in first downs (1st), total offense (4th), passing offense (5th), third-down conversions (5th) and scoring offense (6th). Bowling Green won the Mid-American Conference (MAC) title and played in the 2015 GoDaddy Bowl. Lynch's tutelage helped produce seven 2015 All-MAC selections on offense, including linemen Alex Huettel (second team), Jacob Bennett (second team) and running back Travis Greene (first team).
Lynch was the Falcons running backs coach in 2014, mentoring the trio of Greene, Fred Coppet and Andre Givens. The unit combined for 2,192 yards and 26 touchdowns on the ground to help the Falcons capture the MAC East Division crown and win the inaugural Raycom Media Camellia Bowl.
Lynch was an assistant coach at Eastern Illinois (2005-13), spending one season mentoring the tight ends, six seasons coaching the wide receivers and the final two seasons as the running backs coach. He had a pair of 1,000-yard rushers and all-conference performers in Jake Walker (1,133 yards, 12 TDs) in 2012 and Shepard Little (1,551 and 15 TDs) in 2013. Lynch mentored 2006 All-American Micah Rucker during his time coaching the receivers.
He joined the Montana staff in 1999 as a restricted earning coach. After that season, Lynch joined the staff at Utah State for five seasons (2000-04), where he worked with the tight ends. Lynch worked with three tight ends that signed with NFL teams: two-time Pro Bowl selection Chris Cooley (Washington), J.R. Suguturaga (Miami Dolphins) and Casey Poppinga (Pittsburgh Steelers).
A Roseville, California native, Lynch was an offensive lineman for Sierra Junior College before finishing his collegiate career at Montana (1997-98). The Grizzlies combined to win 16 games with Lynch on the roster and reached the Division I-AA (now FCS) playoffs both seasons. Lynch earned his bachelor's degree from Montana and a master's degree in secondary education from Utah State.
He and his wife, Emily, have two children, Madison and Will.
