The Moment Before the News Broke

A Christmas pause, an unexpected Michigan turn, and a reminder to live in the moment.

Happy Holidays from Y-Option.

I hope time with your family was well spent.
That you enjoyed an early Christmas morning, slept in the day after, and—most importantly—felt real joy with the people you love most.

My favorite moment came the night before Christmas.

We celebrated both Hanukkah and Christmas as a family. We set out carrots, some cookies, and this year our kids even decided to leave half a glass of wine by the fireplace. Our oldest wrote a note to Santa, then let our youngest dictate his wishes—carefully writing those down too.

As I watched them, it hit me: this might be the last year our oldest is truly into Santa.

I tried to sit in it. To really cherish it.

Christmas morning came. Gifts were opened. Laughs were shared. And because it rained all day here in Los Angeles, we didn’t do much at all. We stayed home. We paused. We watched A Boy Called Christmas where all of us cried. And honestly—it felt amazing.

I hadn’t been able to sit like that in a while.

Then, hours later, the news started to trickle out.

Kyle Whittingham would be the next head coach at Michigan.

Talk about something you didn’t expect after Christmas.

Coach Whittingham is someone I’ve known for 20 years. I broadcast his first game as a co-head coach on the Pittsburgh Panthers radio network, when his Utah team took down my Pitt Panthers in the Fiesta Bowl led by Alex Smith in 2005. From that moment on, it was clear—his teams were going to be tough, disciplined, and “a hard out.”

Over roughly 15 seasons calling Pac-12 football, I got to know him well. Production meetings. Dinners. Sidebar conversations. That’s where I learned the essence of who he is.

I also watched him navigate tragedy, after the heartbreaking losses of Ty Jordan and Aaron Lowe. He honored them every single day—through how he coached, how he led, and how he remembered them. Every home game between the third and fourth quarter. Every spring game. 22 Forever.

So when the press release came through announcing Kyle Whittingham as Michigan’s 22nd head coach, my heart skipped a beat.

College football delivers moments and storylines none of us can predict. Add this one to the list.

For Michigan fans, you’re getting a true CEO.
For Utah fans, you’re losing a Hall of Fame coach.
And Utah will now move forward with a driven leader in Morgan Scalley—someone who has already poured everything he has into that program and will continue to do so.

Life is unexpected.
We can’t predict what’s coming.

All we can do—like I was reminded on Christmas Eve—is live in the moment.

That’s where the best things happen.

Speaking of moments, I hopped on Substack Live and shared my immediate thoughts on the Michigan hire—just me, one-on-one, with you. If you haven’t seen it yet, take a look.

Coming up this week, Y-Option Scouting will roll out deep-dive previews of several quarterfinal matchups for our paid members only.

Ohio State vs Miami is coming this week + a story I’ve never told about that title game back in 2003.

Until then—enjoy your weekend.
Enjoy being present.
And of course, enjoy the bowl games.

Much love and Stay Steady,
Yogi