Michigan
Kyle Whittingham knows what Michigan football needs
Kyle Whittingham says appeal of Michigan football job was obvious
New Michigan football coach Kyle Whittingham said the appeal of the job was obvious on Sunday, Dec. 28, in Orlando.
Michigan football is primed to win now, new coach Kyle Whittingham said this week on “The Dan Patrick Show.”
The Wolverines have made far too many headlines off the field, which is why Whittingham told Patrick the organization needs to simply get back to focusing on the reason they’re all together as a team − football.
“The place doesn’t need a rebuild, it needs a reboot of trust and getting rid of the drama and just get back to playing Michigan football without all the distractions,” Whittingham said. “It didn’t come from the players. The players were not involved. It was not some player issue – it was just the peripheral.
“Guys here have a great attitude, I met with everyone of them last week at the bowl site. Quality young men, care about academics, excited to be at Michigan, but they’ve dealt with a lot over the last few years.”
Whittingham, 66, takes over as the 22nd head coach in program history after a pair of scandals rocked the previous two men who held his job.
Jim Harbaugh led the Wolverines from 2015-23 − and left on top by winning a national championship − but also was found to have a lack of institutional control in his program by NCAA investigators after two separate NCAA violations occurred under his watch: impermissible recruiting and illegal sign-stealing.
More recently, Sherrone Moore was fired in scandal after he was found to have had a relationship with a subordinate and was subsequently arrested after he allegedly went to her house and threatened his own life − he was jailed for two nights and charged with felony home invasion, misdemeanor stalking and misdemeanor breaking and entering.
Patrick asked if there was any selling point Whittingham needed to hear specifically from Michigan. Whittingham said when he stepped away from Utah in mid-December there were only a handful of program’s he would have even entertained. He called Michigan “a special place.”
“Needed to hear that Michigan was what I thought it was,” he said. “Hey’re committed to winning here, we do have some challenges with entrance requirements, there is a little bit of a hurdle there, but talk about athletes, resources, tradition − it’s all here at Michigan.”
Whittingham also quipped about the irony of previously being a team that wore red (Utah) whose primary rival wore blue (BYU) to flipping that. It’s also not lost on him that his mentor, Urban Meyer, went 7-0 against Michigan in his tenure in Columbus − Whittingham joked at his opening press conference that Meyer’s name alone might be considered a “four-letter word” in Ann Arbor.
“Blue was our rival at Utah for years,” he said. “Now I’ve got to get used to saying, ‘Go Blue.’”
Whittingham is in the throes of one of the busiest times on the college football calendar. The transfer portal opened for a 15-day window Jan. 2-16, setting off a scramble to both retain players, scout the database and find appropriate fits for the team.
Whittingham has only known his roster and coaches for approximately 10 days – he said while down in Florida he was going to “lock himself” in a room at Schembechler Hall in Ann Arbor to watch film on the players on his roster. He has been able to keep Bryce Underwood, Andrew Marsh, Andrew Babalola, Blake Frazier, Evan Link, Jake Guarnera and Zeke Berry − the last two of whom had put their names in the transfer portal before indicating their return to U-M for 2026.
With money flowing, back-channeling frequent and poaching at an all-time high, Whittingham doesn’t see college football’s current model as something that will last as currently constructed for more than a handful of years.
“It is not sustainable, there’s no question about that,” Whittingham said. “Something’s gotta give. Within a 2- to 4-, 5-year window, you’re going to see a major overhaul of Division I football. I think it’s going to become more of a minor league NFL model. I think you’re gonna see a salary cap, collective bargaining, players as employees.
“I think all that’s coming because we cannot maintain this pace.”
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
Michigan
Michigan lawmakers work through the night on ‘compromise’ budget
Lansing — Michigan lawmakers worked through the night into Friday morning on a new state budget that will use an array of spending cuts and funding maneuvers to close a $1 billion tax revenue gap.
The plan will increase the state’s investment in basic per-student support for Michigan schools and will feature $125 million for special projects sought by legislators. However, 10 state departments will get less money than they had the year before, and a variety of state initiatives, such as the arts and culture program, Pure Michigan and the Office of Global Michigan, will see cuts.
Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, described the new budget, which authorized somewhere around $84 billion in spending, as one “full of compromises.”
“This was a very challenging budget negotiation, mainly because of the $1 billion deficit that we had to ensure to address,” Anthony said. “But being able to do so without reducing any benefits for folks who are receiving Medicaid or food assistance is probably the proudest thing … that comes out of this process.”
The Legislature convened throughout the night Thursday into Friday morning, when the state Capitol would normally have been closed for the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
Under state law, the Republican-led House and Democratic-led Senate are supposed to approve a new budget by July 1 each year. The first of the funding bills wasn’t unveiled this week until about 3:13 a.m. Friday morning, two days after the deadline.
Lawmakers would likely have a few hours to read the bills before the final votes, which were expected later Friday.
On Thursday afternoon, Sen. John Damoose, R-Harbor Springs, said Senate Republicans had no information about what was in the budget blueprint. He labeled the process playing out in the Legislature “nonsense.”
Likewise, Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake Township, said lawmakers had about 30 to 40 minutes between being briefed on the budget and when they had to vote on it.
“We have no idea what’s in these bills,” Runestad said.
In February, Jen Flood, Whitmer’s budget director, said the state was facing a $1.8 billion financial gap. Health care costs had jumped, the Legislature had dedicated more tax dollars to roads, and the federal government, led by Republican President Donald Trump, had forced states to pay for a larger share of costs associated with food assistance for low-income families.
Whitmer initially proposed an $88.1 budget for next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. She sought a bevy of new taxes on smokers, gamblers and digital advertising. Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, refused to go along with the tax hikes.
The new budget will be somewhat close to the current budget in overall amount of approximately $84 million.
Hall and Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, had been working for weeks to create the new funding plan. Hall announced a final deal had been reached Thursday.
The ultimate agreement involved dozens of other bills that were tied to the budget’s approval, including a long-sought measure by some Democrats that would double the cap on the state’s transformational brownfield program, which allows businesses behind large developments to keep income tax and sales withholdings resulting from their projects, from $1.6 billion to $3.2 billion.
The incentive is expected to be used to spur the redevelopment of Detroit’s riverfront Renaissance Center. The Senate approved the brownfield bill in December. The House voted 82-26 in favor of it early Friday.
The Senate also took up early Friday a House-backed proposal to ban former lawmakers from being paid to lobby for two years after leaving office. The bill passed in a vote of 29-7.
How will schools be funded?
Sen. Darrin Camilleri, D-Trenton, acknowledged lawmakers were shifting a larger amount of School Aid Fund money, which would normally go to K-12 schools, toward higher education and community colleges.
The number appeared to rise from about $1.3 billion in the current year to about $2 billion in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, setting a new record. Whitmer had proposed using $1.7 billion from the School Aid Fund to support the operations of universities and community colleges.
The moves effectively free up money in the General Fund, where tax dollars are currently tight, for other needs.
“It’s too much,” Camilleri said of the shifts. “But we’re dealing with a divided Legislature with different priorities, and we all needed to fill the budget gap.”
Robert McCann, executive director of the K-12 Alliance of Michigan, blasted the approach lawmakers took.
“Nothing in this budget justifies it once again being done late,” McCann said. “There is little in it focused on supporting Michigan’s schools, even as it raids nearly $2 billion from the School Aid Fund to pay for data centers and corporate tax handouts.”
The K-12 budget went down from $21.3 billion to $19.8 billion, a 7 percent drop in federal funds on paper.
But the plan appears to allow the federal funds not included in the tally to be spent, so it wasn’t clear how much total spending there would actually be under the legislation.
Lawmakers are increasing the base per-pupil foundation allowance for schools by about 2.5% from $10,050 to $10,300. They are also investing $50 million in high-impact tutoring and instituting a long-term plan for a so-called weighted funding formula, which would tie extra support to economically disadvantaged students and students who are learning English.
House Appropriations Chairwoman Ann Bollin, R-Brighton, touted the weighted funding formula, which will be phased in over the next 15 years.
“This is a transformational school budget, where we are making record investments,” Bollin said.
For Michigan’s public universities, overall funding increased by 12% from $2.3 billion to $2.6 billion, with more money for operations and scholarships.
What were the cuts and projects?
Lawmakers’ final plan also cut $8 million in funding for the Pure Michigan tourism campaign, which received $17 million in support in the current year. The Office of Global Michigan got $500,000 less, dropping its total to about $41.4 million. And the arts and culture program got $685,200 less, dropping its total to $8 million.
Among state departments, the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy saw the largest percentage drop in funding of 31%, going from $967 million to $671 million. The decrease was largely due to the reduction of money for a federal sewage and stormwater program.
Lawmakers did provide $125 million for special projects around the state.
There was $3 million for the Schoenherr Road Bridge Reconstruction in Shelby Township, $1.4 million for the Rochester Community House expansion and renovation, $3.7 million for water main replacements in Utica and $2 million for a fire station project in Waterford Township, according to the spending plan.
cmauger@detroitnews.com
Michigan
Fourth inmate from Michigan’s female prison dies after cardiac event
Michigan lawmakers seek prison director’s exit
30 Michigan lawmakers seek resignation of prison director Heidi Washington after 4 prison deaths; Whitmer orders probe.
Another inmate from Michigan’s female prison died on Thursday, the Michigan Department of Corrections reported, becoming the fourth female inmate to die at the facility plagued by complaints of poor conditions since May.
Dalephenia Jones, 62, of the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility died at Trinity Health Hospital about two weeks after correctional officers found that she needed medical assistance in her cell, the department said.
“As this was an unexpected death, the department will be investigating the events preceding Ms. Jones being sent to the hospital and will provide information on the result of those investigations when they are complete,” Department of Corrections spokeswoman Jenni Riehle said in a statement.
Three prior deaths at the women’s facility led 30 state lawmakers on May 19 to urge the resignation of Michigan Department of Corrections Director Heidi Washington, citing a history of problems at the state prisons under her leadership.
The prison has recently been under fire over its conditions. A state House oversight committee heard testimony in February from prisoners, advocates and former staff who testified about the conditions, including mold and a lack of medical care, similar to complaints that have risen since the two women’s deaths.
The prison’s warden, Jeremy Howard, was put “temporarily on personal leave,” the department said earlier this month.
Washington and other health care leadership have been onsite regularly at Women’s Huron Valley since the other deaths occurred in May, Riehle said.
On June 19, Huron Valley corrections officers took Jones to the facility’s health care area after finding her conscious but in need of medical assistance, the department said. The health care staff requested outside emergency medical services, the department said.
Emergency technicians determined that “Jones was having a cardiac event and she was taken into surgery after arrival at the hospital,” Riehle said.
No other specifics were given about Jones’ condition during the 14 days following surgery or the cause of the cardiac event. But Riehl said Jones “had multiple documented chronic medical conditions for which she was being offered medical treatment as part of a chronic care plan,” some of which potentially increased the risk for cardiac events.
Jones was sentenced in Wayne County to life in prison in 1994 at the Huron Valley facility.
“The department continues to take meaningful actions at Women’s Huron Valley Correctional, and other facilities, to improve the health and safety of incarcerated individuals,” Riehle said.
Riehle maintained that the department has sent “experienced clinical leadership from across the state” to the facility and that it is “hiring additional full-time medical staff, developing a new healthcare staffing plan with enhanced nursing management, improving communication, among other action items that provide additional supports.”
The concerns about the facility began after Khaira Howard, 28, died May 14 in a medical observation cell at Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility. Howard’s parents are calling for reform at the Ypsilanti facility and for answers about their daughter’s death.
Rebecca Fackler, 57, another prisoner, died May 17. Both Fackler and Howard reportedly died after they were denied medical care, said two attorneys handling civil cases for loved ones of the two women.
In early June, Ashley Hoath, 36, died at Trinity Health Hospital several hours after being transferred out of the prison’s medical unit, Riehle said.
Michigan
Ocasio-Cortez backs El-Sayed in Michigan U.S. Senate race
AOC Endorses El-Sayed in Michigan US Senate Race
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has endorsed Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan’s U.S. Senate race. He is in a competitive three-person primary.
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a potential presidential or U.S. Senate candidate in 2028 and a popular, recognized leader in progressive politics nationwide, has endorsed former Wayne County and Detroit health director Abdul El-Sayed in the Aug. 4 Democratic primary for the nomination to Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat this year.
Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, announced the endorsement in an interview with the New York Times. On July 2, El-Sayed’s campaign put out a statement from her, saying, “After watching this campaign unfold for well over a year, it has become clear that Abdul El-Sayed is the strongest candidate to keep this seat in November.”
“He is building a winning coalition by putting forward an agenda that speaks directly to working people,” she said. “He is not afraid to take on the greed making life unaffordable across Michigan because he’s never taken a dime in corporate donations. When he gets to Washington, he will work to get big money out of politics and to guarantee healthcare as a human right to all Americans. I am proud to endorse Abdul El-Sayed to be Michigan’s next senator.”
It adds to an already impressive list of endorsements that includes the UAW and Detroit’s Black Slate.
El-Sayed, who was born in Michigan, trained as a medical doctor and worked in public health, is a strong supporter of government-provided healthcare, abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and an arms embargo on Israel; polling averages show him narrowly leading the Aug. 4 primary over U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of Birmingham and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow of Royal Oak and the frontrunner to face Republican former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers of White Lake for the seat in the fall.
Stevens, who is seen as a more moderate, mainstream Democrat, has also racked up endorsements, such as those from former U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm; McMorrow, making her first run for federal office, has positioned herself as a more progressive Democrat who is less tied to the party’s establishment than Stevens but more politically experienced than El-Sayed, and has gotten endorsements from U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Chris Murphy of Connecticut and others.
The Free Press typically doesn’t cover individual political endorsements unless they are newsworthy. And in this case, Ocasio-Cortez’ endorsement doesn’t come as a surprise: Like El-Sayed, she is an unapologetic advocate for progressivism in the Democratic Party and she also endorsed him in 2018 as she was running for Congress for the first time and he had mounted an ultimately unsuccessful effort to win the party’s nomination for governor, losing to Gretchen Whitmer, who became governor.
Other progressive stalwarts, including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, have also already endorsed El-Sayed.
But given Ocasio-Cortez’ national profile, she could be a potentially significant factor in bolstering the support El-Sayed has seen in what some progressive backers consider the most important primary of the year and one that could be determinative as to whether left-leaning candidates break through. Her endorsement − and any appearances, if she were to campaign for El-Sayed in Michigan − could also be helpful, given that absentee voting by mail has begun.
Also, unlike past election cycles, in this current one Ocasio-Cortez has been far more circumspect about handing out her endorsement, as she has been talked about as a potential candidate for president in 2028 or a challenger to Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York that year. Those endorsements have also seemingly paid off with her preferred candidates winning primaries this year in California, Pennsylvania and elsewhere.
Ocasio-Cortez also has seemed more wary of endorsing in races where House colleagues have been challenged. But in endorsing El-Sayed, Ocasio-Cortez does so in a U.S. Senate race where Schumer has spoken publicly of his belief that Stevens, who was elected in the same class as Ocasio-Cortez and flipped a previously Republican district in Michigan, is better positioned to win in November.
Ocasio-Cortez’ endorsement of El-Sayed is her first in a competitive U.S. Senate race this year, as well. Taken together, it is indicative that Ocasio-Cortez expects El-Sayed to win the primary, despite Michigan’s history of electing more moderate Democrats to the U.S. Senate. (No Republican has won a U.S. Senate race in Michigan since Spencer Abraham in 1994 and he served a single term before being defeated.)
“Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez has changed the trajectory of American politics and inspired a generation to believe that government really can work for working people,” El-Sayed said in response to the endorsement. “She has spent her career taking on the powerful on behalf of everyday people and she has shown all of us what courageous, smart, values-driven leadership looks like. I am deeply honored to earn her endorsement.”
The state Republican Party, for one, was unimpressed, with spokesman Greg Manz calling it “the least surprising political news of the week.”
“It takes one unhinged, radical socialist to spot another, and Abdul El-Sayed has made it clear he’d rather push the reckless Green New Scam that would kill Michigan auto manufacturing jobs and support dangerous immigration policies that would allow illegal, criminal invaders into Michigan neighborhoods than protect hardworking Michigan families,” he said.
Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on X @tsspangler.
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