Michigan fires Jason Beck: Wolverines will owe significant buyout after parting with struggling OC in Year 1

A dismal 15-6 loss to rival Michigan State proved to be the breaking point for a unit ranking near the bottom of the FBS in scoring and total offense Nov 8, 2026 at 5:29 pm ET • 1 min read Michigan fired offensive coordinator Jason Beck a day after a 15-6 loss to Michigan State in which the Wolverines managed only 192 total offensive yards, according to multiple reports. Beck, the nation's highest-paid offensive coordinator, came with head coach Kyle Whittingham after a successful year together at Utah last season. That success never translated in Ann Arbor, however, on a 5-4 Michigan team that is one of the most disappointing in the country. The loss to Michigan State was the final straw. "Really, I can't come up with one positive offensively in this game," Whittingham said Saturday. night. "So we're right back to the drawing board. And obviously gotta figure out our issues. Falls on me without, I'm not hiding from that at all. Anything that happens has got my name on it."Michigan already made a quarterback change earlier in the season, benching highly paid former five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood in favor of freshman Tommy Carr. The offense never really got going, however, and ranked 125th in passing offense, 126th in scoring offense and 132nd in total offense out of 138 FBS teams. The decision to fire Beck comes with a significant financial hit for Michigan. The Wolverines will owe Beck nearly $9 million to buy out a three-year deal that paid him $2.8 million this season and was set to go up to more than $3 million the next two seasons. The pressure had been building on Whittingham to make a move as the offense continued to flounder this season. The noise got particularly loud after a 13-6 loss to Indiana in which the Wolverines managed only 57 rushing yards on 42 carries. CBS Sports will update this story shortly.