The Michigan Wolverines have parted ways with offensive coordinator and quarterback coach Jason Beck, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel. Beck, who worked in the same capacity for the Utah Utes in 2025, followed head coach Kyle Whittingham after he took over the Michigan football program.

The decision to fire Beck comes after his offense failed to exceed 21 points for the fifth time since the start of Big Ten play. Saturday's loss to the Michigan State Spartans arguably marked the nadir, with the Wolverines failing to score a single point until after the two-minute timeout in the fourth quarter.

"It was very disappointing after we had played pretty effectively last week on offense," Whittingham said after the game. "We had some production, some good production in a lot of areas last week. And there's nothing productive about this game. Zero. It's not one step back. It's three steps back.

"Really, I can't come up with one positive offensively in this game."

An offense with no identity

Beck took over an offense that had underperformed relative to its talent level the previous season. In 2025, the Wolverines finished the year barely ranked inside the top 50 by ESPN's SP+ and averaged 27.5 points per game. Some of the middling production stemmed from the growing pains of a freshman starter under center. Still, the potential of that quarterback -- five-star recruit Bryce Underwood -- suggested much better days ahead for the offense.

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That never came to fruition under Beck. Underwood struggled mightily under his new offensive play-caller, averaging just 154 yards and less than a touchdown as a passer over six starts in 2026. After the start of conference play, Underwood accounted for two scores and five turnovers, an unpalatable ratio for any signal-caller, let alone one with Underwood's pedigree.

Benching Underwood for freshman Tommy Carr provided a brief spark, but the move didn't ultimately solve any of the offense's biggest problems. Under Beck, Carr looked limited as a passer, throwing for 571 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions over three starts. While he did show some juice on designed runs and scrambles -- Carr scored three times as a rusher -- that didn't provide consistency for the offense, let alone an identity.

The offensive outlook following Beck's departure

With Beck no longer in the fold, the Wolverines will need a new offensive play-caller for the remainder of the season. However, Whittingham has not announced who will handle those responsibilities moving forward. He took a similar approach to the quarterback situation the week after Carr replaced Underwood at halftime.

Among the members of Whittingham's staff, only two assistants have previous experience as an offensive coordinator. Fred Jackson worked in that role for Michigan in the mid-1990s and currently serves as an assistant running backs coach. Mike Lynch last held the OC title for the Syracuse Orange in 2019.

More likely, Whittingham will turn to one of his more senior offensive assistants to fill Beck's void. Tony Alford, the offensive run-game coordinator and running-backs coach, has over two decades of experience and has worked with multiple position groups. Quarterbacks coach Koy Detmer Jr. and wide-receivers coach Micah Simon might also garner consideration, though they have only worked in coaching since 2020 and 2022, respectively.