Former Michigan Coach Firmly Defends Bryce Underwood and Puts Blame on Kyle Whittingham & Co. for Michigan Crisis: “Got Crucified”

Six games were all it took for Bryce Underwood to go from Michigan’s centerpiece to the player watching from the sideline. The criticism followed him there, and one former Michigan head coach believes it has landed on the wrong target.

Biff Poggi, who served as Michigan’s interim head coach last season, made that case on the Blue by Ninety podcast on November 4, 2026.

“Offensively, I just don’t like how they’re playing. They’re not playing Michigan football right now,” Poggi said. “I don’t think Bryce Underwood deserves all the criticism at all. He got crucified… I just think there’s some scheme things they got to figure out.”

After Underwood threw two picks in the first half against Penn State, head coach Kyle Whittingham turned to true freshman Tommy Carr. Since then, Carr has started twice, including the 28-21 win over Rutgers on October 31, and Whittingham named him the starter going forward.

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Poggi, who coached Underwood for three games, says the stat line misses something.

“When I was the head coach there for three games in six weeks, he was delightful, and he played really, really well against Central Michigan,” Poggi said. “We won at Nebraska, and we were beating Texas with eight minutes off to go in the game. That kid’s a good player.”

However, Poggi’s defense of Underwood does not mean the quarterback had no shortcomings. Several analysts have pointed to real problems with Underwood, and one of the most cited problems is how slowly he reads a defense. Some Big Ten observers said he looks lost when teams disguise their coverages, which leads to slow decisions and sacks.

His footwork has been questioned too. Former NFL safety Eric Weddle has discussed his accuracy, QB play, and pocket awareness. Underwood also leaves a clean pocket too early or throws off his back foot, some critics say.

Before Tommy Carr replaced him, Underwood completed 58.1% of his passes with five touchdowns and six interceptions. He also rarely made the big plays you would expect from the No. 1 recruit in his class. Still, the blame isn’t all his. His struggles were real, but the offense around him made them worse.

Poggi’s main concern is about how the offense is built and used. He says the plan was built on size up front and backs who run downhill, with the tight ends at the center. He believes that identity has gone missing. Linemen are drifting sideways instead of working double teams and gap schemes, and the tight ends have faded out of the game plan.

“We got a bunch of big guys that look very uncomfortable,” Poggi said of the line.

He was far warmer on the defense, especially the front seven. Though he did not name Whittingham or anyone else on the staff, his list points to scheme and the use of personnel, not the quarterback.

The offensive coach has also taken some of the weight. Michigan brought in Jason Beck from Utah to run the offense, and Underwood struggled to adapt to that system. Quarterbacks coach Koy Detmer admitted the fit didn’t quite click.

“I feel and wish I could have done more,” Detmer said. “I just feel that didn’t get Bryce there and not sure maybe exactly why or how. It didn’t quite click to where we would have wanted it to, but he’s an exceptional talent and great young man.”

Poggi is not the only former Michigan voice pointing at the staff. Connor Stalions, who worked under Jim Harbaugh as a recruiting analyst and left the program amid the alleged sign-stealing scandal back in 2023, went after Whittingham on X in October, when Michigan was 3-2.

“There’s coaching malpractice on a weekly basis, and it’s in every area,” Stalions wrote. “Clock management, lack of situational awareness, and making things extremely easy for the opposing play callers.”

Michigan is now 5-3 overall and 2-3 in the Big Ten. Michigan State arrives on November 7 at Michigan Stadium, with Carr set for his third start and Underwood one snap away. In Poggi’s view, the offense’s problems run deeper than whoever is taking that snap.

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