Kyle Whittingham is continuing to fill out the behind-the-scenes operation that is tasked with a lot of the heavy lifting in Ann Arbor, and the latest name to know works in an area every program continues to pour resources into right now.
Michigan is expected to hire Eastern Kentucky (FCS) director of player personnel and recruiting Jax Egan as an assistant director of personnel, according to a report today from CBS Sports. Egan's hire further exemplifies how Michigan plans to attack roster creation and development under Kyle Whittingham and his staff.
Egan is not a new name in the personnel world, even if he is a young one. He joined the Eastern Kentucky staff in October of 2024 as the Colonels' director of player personnel and recruiting, running the day-to-day of an FCS program's recruiting and portal operation. That is real reps in a job that has only gotten more demanding as rosters churn.
Before landing at Eastern Kentucky, Egan spent time at Kansas as a scouting and recruiting intern beginning in 2021. In Lawrence he worked directly with the offensive staff on prospect evaluation, organized recruiting trips, and coordinated game day, official, and unofficial visits for hundreds of prospects. He also served as Kansas' point of contact for transfer portal documents and information, which is about as relevant a background as you can have for the modern version of this job. He picked up early NFL exposure too, working a training camp internship with the Kansas City Chiefs in the summer of 2021. Egan holds a degree in sport management from Kansas.
Whittingham arrived in Ann Arbor in late December after Michigan moved on from Sherrone Moore, agreeing to a five-year deal to take over a program that finished 9-4 in 2025 and lost to Texas in the Citrus Bowl. New head coaches rebuild the support staff just as aggressively as they do the position rooms, and Michigan has already seen plenty of movement in this department, recently losing assistant director of personnel John Collins to the Detroit Lions.
For coaches watching how staffs are being constructed in this era, the personnel department is where a lot of the roster is truly won and lost. Bringing in someone with Egan's mix of Power Four and FCS experience, plus hands-on portal reps, fits the profile of what so many departments are chasing.
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