Facing mounting pressure amid a tumultuous first season at Michigan, Kyle Whittingham mentioned a surplus of resources this week when harping on Oregon's talent level under Dan Lanning ahead of Saturday's game with the Ducks.
"(Lanning's an) outstanding football coach, defensive-minded coach; that's his background, but tireless recruiter," Whittingham said Monday night. "He really does a great job recruiting. It doesn't hurt that you have $50 million at your disposal to, in essence, to outbid everybody. Not everybody, but a lot of people. But that's not his fault. That's a credit. I mean, that's a credit to their program and their dedication and desire to win and the support they have.
"NIL is really the name in the game in recruiting these days; it's shifted so much. Used to be the facilities you had, the tradition and all these other things; now it's these guys got 100 grand more for me. It's a little bit of a factor, to say the least, but not to take anything away from Dan because he's an outstanding recruiter just in and of itself."
Whittingham's unprompted "outbid everybody" remark quickly made the rounds on social media, this coming after questioning his team's motivation following a shocking loss to Michigan State since there's "no more trophy games" on the schedule this season.
Inexplicably not mentioning Ohio State after a question centered around motivation was alarming.
Oregon signed a top-10 class last recruiting cycle and began the season inside the top five before early struggles. Last week's win at Ohio State, however, put the Ducks back in the College Football Playoff at-large conversation and should push Oregon to a top-20 ranking in the selection committee's updated reveal on Tuesday night.
According to CBS Sports' preseason poll of 50-plus industry insiders, Oregon does have one of the costliest rosters in the country this season.
Lanning wasn't made aware of Whittingham's comments Monday, but he previewed the matchup with the Wolverines during his weekly presser.
"I haven't really been able to pay much attention to them until this week," Lanning said of Michigan. "I know he's a Hall of Fame coach for a reason, and he's won a lot of football games. I've been worried about my own problems, not really paying attention to his. I know he does a great job. I'm sure they'll be prepared to play us."
Michigan's staff changes, QB situation
Whittingham fired offensive coordinator Jason Beck, the nation's highest-paid assistant coach, the morning after the loss to the Spartans. The Wolverines rank near the bottom of the Big Ten in nearly all offensive statistical categories, and that's after changing at quarterback from Bryce Underwood to freshman Tommy Carr.
The results have not matched our desired outcome, and I felt that a change in leadership was required for our offense," Whittingham said Sunday. "We need to put our offensive players and the entire team in the best possible position to be successful.
"We appreciate the hard work and effort that Jason has dedicated to the program. Jason is a great man and coach, and unfortunately, it did not work out the way that we wanted it to at Michigan. We wish Jason and his family nothing but the best in the future."
Saturday's loss to Michigan State was the program's first since 1985 when not allowing a touchdown. The ugly offensive performance prompted Whittingham to reopen the quarterback competition entering this weekend's game at Oregon.
Carr went 1-2 as Michigan's starter, which included a win at Rutgers and an overtime loss to Indiana. Underwood completed 58% of passes with five touchdowns and six interceptions before getting benched last month.
