Michigan’s new head coach Kyle Whittingham is shaking up the football staff, including parting ways with general manager Sean Magee, according to multiple reports on Tuesday.
Magee, 49, began his second stint with the Wolverines when former head coach Sherrone Moore announced the hire in March 2024. Magee came back to Ann Arbor, Mich., after working as chief of staff for the NFL’s Chicago Bears for the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
Under the title of senior athletic director and general manager, Magee’s duties, in the March 2024 announcement, were described as overseeing “all aspects of the recruiting and player personnel departments as well as coordinate the program’s NIL initiatives. He will handle the identification, evaluation and recruitment of prospective student-athletes in conjunction with the head coach and staff and manage the roster of current student-athletes while identifying future needs for the program.”
On his watch, Michigan landed the top recruit in the country for the Class of 2025, quarterback Bryce Underwood, who had been attached to LSU.
Magee’s first stint with Michigan was working under then-head coach Jim Harbaugh from 2017-22. After one year as the director of player personnel, Magee was promoted to associate athletic director for football.
Magee played offensive line and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2004. He later worked five seasons as the Midshipmen’s director of player personnel.
The Detroit Free Press reported that changes at the football program’s recruiting and personnel department will include director of player personnel Albert Karschnia, director of on-campus recruiting Kayli Johson and director of recruiting Sam Popper, the latter of whom has confirmed that he accepted the position of associate general manager at San Diego State.
Michigan officially hired Whittingham on Dec. 26 to guide its recent national-championship-winning program out of a period marked by scandal.
Michigan fired Moore with cause on Dec. 10 for having an extramarital relationship with a subordinate in the football program.
Whittingham has run a scandal-free program at Utah, making him a potential breath of fresh air after the recent turbulence in Ann Arbor with Moore’s dismissal and NCAA sanctions for a sign-stealing scheme under Harbaugh, who won a national championship in the 2023 season.
–Field Level Media
