Kyle Whittingham continues to revamp the Michigan football program to bring it in-line with the new atmosphere of college athletics. And in doing so, he's thinking somewhat outside of the box.
After relieving general manager Sean Magee of his duties and bringing in former Notre Dame staffer and Athlete's First executive Dave Peloquin into the fold, Whittingham continued to innovate and renovate. He brought in Skylar Phan from USC, and former New York Giants director of college scouting as the team's assistant general manager of personnel.
On Monday, the Wolverines officially announced another assistant GM, with former New England Patriots and Boston College staffer Berj Najarian, who will join as the assistant general manager of strategy.
Happy to have Berj Najarian with the program as our Assistant GM for Strategy! pic.twitter.com/8jEc4KRsAt
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) April 27, 2026
Given that it's an entirely new position, it's unclear exactly what it will mean that Najarian will oversee strategy for the maize and blue. But given that he had 24 years working under Bill Belichick with the Patriots as his right-hand man, it could be a home-run hire considering his expertise.
The news that Michigan was hiring Najarian was revealed last week, with ESPN's Pete Thamel having broken the story.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan football announces ex-Patriots aide Berj Najarian