Late October is when coaching jobs start to wobble. Head coaches lose their positions, coordinators get stripped of play-calling, and every bad Saturday invites a louder round of questions. Michigan’s offense has now given the Wolverines their own version of that moment. After a 13-6 overtime loss to Indiana in which Michigan never reached the end zone, former coach Urban Meyer, with three national championships, has weighed in on what he thinks is going wrong.

“I don’t know Jason Beck. I know him a little bit. I’ve met him a few times, and he did good at New Mexico and Utah, but it just doesn’t look good,” Meyer said on The Triple Option podcast. “To me, offensive football is numbers and leverage, period.”

Meyer’s critique is directed at Kyle Whittingham’s coaching staff member, Jason Beck’s play-calling and scheme fit.

He explained what he meant with a specific example. When a defense lines up with outside-leverage techniques and the offense still runs a jet sweep that loses five yards, he said, the quarterback has to get the team out of it.

He questioned whether Michigan’s quarterback has the freedom to do that, and noted that fellow analyst Brady Quinn does not believe the quarterback has that freedom. Meyer also said that if he saw that play from the sideline, he would be screaming for a timeout. His conclusion was that bad plays like that are not the fault of Bryce Underwood, Tommy Carr, or the tailback.

Michigan is 4-3 and ranks 130th among 138 FBS teams in total offense and 118th in scoring. They are also near the bottom nationally in explosive plays, with 69 gains of 10 or more yards and 18 of 20 or more. The defense is the opposite: Michigan is third nationally in total defense at 250.1 yards per game and first in yards allowed per play at 4.1.

As offensive coordinator, Beck led offenses that ranked fourth nationally at both New Mexico and Utah, each with quarterback Devon Dampier. At Michigan, the offense averages 5.01 yards per play, which ranks 123rd. The quarterback situation has been unsettled too. Michigan benched Underwood midseason for freshman Carr, and Beck reportedly suggested the change.

The criticism did not stop with Meyer. Calls for change at offensive coordinator grew louder after the 13-6 overtime loss to Indiana, in which Michigan never reached the end zone.

The pressure reached Whittingham directly. During the Monday presser, he did not announce a change at offensive coordinator, but made clear that his patience was not unlimited. While he defended Beck’s track record, the head coach acknowledged that Michigan’s offense had yet to find a scheme its players could execute effectively.

“Right now is the time of the year you’re seeing head coaches lose their jobs, play-callers being demoted and that type of thing,” Whittingham said. “My job is to do whatever’s best for the program. I’m fully aware of that. And if there’s tough decisions to be made in that regard, I’ve certainly made them before and will again… I’m not a micromanager. You hire guys for a reason.”

Whittingham pointed to Beck’s history at Utah, where the Utes led the country in red-zone touchdown percentage in 2025. Michigan, by contrast, has struggled to finish drives this season.

“I know that you can’t live on that forever, understandably, but he’s been very successful,” Whittingham said. “The essence of coaching is getting things in the scheme that your players can do and can execute. We just haven’t found that. We’re still searching for that seven games in, unfortunately.”

Jon Jansen, a former Michigan captain and All-American who now works on the team’s radio broadcasts, went further.

“It would not be an overreaction if this happened,” Jansen said of a firing. “I think that moment has passed. If you refuse to call plays that they are good at, then I don’t know what you’re doing. I really don’t.”

One play against Indiana has become the example for many critics. On third-and-goal from the 1-yard line, Beck called a play-action rollout for Carr to find tight end Manuel Beigel. An unblocked edge defender reached Carr, and the sack cost 13 yards. Critics said the call moved away from Michigan’s power-running identity in short yardage.

The play drew harsh criticism from fans and analysts, who also objected to how frequently Beck turned to the “Rhino” package. It only added to the growing unrest among fans, demanding a chance in Michigan.

Michigan’s next game is October 31 at Rutgers, in Piscataway, New Jersey, where the Wolverines will have a chance to show what has changed in a week.