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Whittingham announces coaching staff for defense, special teams
03/01/2026 16:42:00 |Football
• Jay Hill calls U-M's Lester family defensive coordinator (Jan. 2)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Head Football Coach Kyle Whittingham announced Saturday (Jan. 3) the hiring of the defensive coaching staff during his initial season leading the Wolverines' program.
In addition to announcing Jay Hill on Friday (Jan. 2) as the Lester family's defensive coordinator at Michigan, Whittingham hired Jernaro Guilford (defensive backs), Lewis Powell (defensive ends/edges) and Alex Whittingham (linebackers).Kyle Whittingham also retained defensive line coach Lou Esposito in the same position, and David Denham will continue on the staff as a defensive line analyst.
In addition, Whittingham announced that Kelly Coombs will remain with the Michigan football program as special teams coordinator and Garrett Clawson will continue as an assistant special teams coach.
Below is a biographical sketch of each new member of the Michigan football staff:
Gennaro Guilford (defender)
Jernaro Gilford is a veteran secondary coach who spent the last 10 seasons as the cornerbacks coach at BYU.Gilford has been promoted to Defensive Passing Game Coordinator for the 2025 season.
He helped 10 players reach the NFL, including three draft picks.In 10 seasons coaching cornerbacks at BYU, Guilford helped seven players earn nine all-conference honors, including four honors since 2023, BYU's first season in the Big 12. Jacob Robinson was twice honored (second team, 2024) and finished his career with 11 more interceptions than Robinson, 200U is also the second player.a Freshman All-American (2021) andJim Thorpe Semifinalist (2023).Caleb Hayes was the 2022 Independent Defensive Back of the Year and Eddie Heckard was named the 2023 Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year.
Guilford helped BYU's secondary to three seasons of ranking in the top 30 in passes allowed per game and four seasons of ranking in the top 30 in pass protection efficiency. The secondary produced more than 15 interceptions and finished in the top 20 nationally in that category six times, including every year from 2023-25
The 2024 Cougars led the nation in 29 total turnovers (tied for third, FBS) with 22 picks, 12 different players recorded interceptions, more than any other team in the country.They also posted the no.3 in the nation's passing efficiency (105.91), best in the Big 12.
Following his playing career, Gilford entered coaching as a two-year graduate assistant (2012-13) at Whittier College in California.He coached two players to conference honors in Tyquion Ballad and Josh Pride.His first opportunity came as a position coach at Southern Utah (FCS), where he was responsible for leading the secondary for two seasons (2014-15).He coached two All-Big Sky players in cornerback LeShaun Sims and and safety Miles Killebrew (2015), both 2016 NFL draft picks.
Guilford played at BYU, where he earned a degree in sociology in 2004.He started 37 games for the Cougars, making 28 starts, totaling 10 career tackles and was a first-team All-Mountain West selection in 2001.
Gilford and his wife, Brittany, have two children: son Gernaro Jr. and daughter Jrue.
Lewis Powell, Defensive ends/edges
Powell is a coaching veteran who spent 17 seasons at the collegiate level (14 as a coach), working with defensive linemen and defensive ends for nearly his entire career.He spent the past 11 seasons, and 14 of 17 seasons overall, as a member of Utah's staff.
Powell helped eight Utah players reach the NFL, including six draft picks.Six different players earned All-America honors under his tutelage, including three first-team or consensus honors in Jonah Ellis, Bradlee Anae and Jon Henry-Daley.Powell coached three Ted Hendricks Award winners and two Pac-12 Defensive Morris Trophy winners, and only one Utah defensive end was a first-team all-league selection in every season from 2021-25.
During Powell's time with the Utes as Utah's defensive end (2016-18) and defensive end (2019-25), the Utes had the nation's top-30 defensive end in eight seasons, ranking first (five times) or second in the Pac-12 in those years.The team finished first in the FBS three times and in the top 20 in the league in each of the last six years.In five seasons, the Utes led the Pac-12 in losses in the top 12 in the FBS for two consecutive years.Utah finished second in the league with four runs while maintaining a top 25 national ranking.
Powell played defensive line at Utah, graduating in 2004 and breaking camp with the Cleveland Browns before a four-year career in the Arena Football League (2005-08).He then became a graduate assistant (2009-10) and administrative assistant (2011) at Utah before becoming the first head coach at Hawaii, where he led the defensive line for three seasons from 2012-14.Powell later returned to Salt Lake City to coach the Utes tight ends in 2015 before returning to defensive end.
He is married to the former Levalcy Key, and the couple has four children: Alai, Levani, Louis Jr., and Zawai.
U-Alex Whittingham, u-Linebackers
Whittingham has been part of the Kansas City front office since 2018, having been on the defensive coaching staff for eight years.He spent two years as a defensive assistant (2018, 2024), five years as a quality control coach (2019, 2020-23) and became an assistant coach in 2025.
Whittingham was part of the organization's five leading teams that reached the Super Bowl, including titles 55 (2020), 57 (2022) and 58 (2023), and each worked in the defensive position of the franchise group.He spent the first year working with the outside linebackers before transitioning to the defensive line in 2019. The next four seasons he coached with the linebackers and in 2024, he worked with the secondary.
As a member of Kansas City's staff, Whittingham has worked closely with defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo since his hiring in 2019.He assisted some of the best players in the league, including linebackers Frank Clark and Chris Jones;linebackers Nick Bolton, Dee Ford, Willie Gay, Justin Houston and Drew Tranquil;Defensive end Trent McDuffie.The Chiefs led by 10 points in six of Whittingham's eight seasons on staff, including a top-six finish three years ago.In his last four seasons (2022-25), the team ranked 12th in yards allowed per game.
Whittingham's coaching career began after his playing career at Utah (2013-17), where he went on to play under his father and appeared in 45 games with the Utes.
He and his wife Gabby have two daughters, Eleanor and Amelia, and a son, McCoy.
