Kyle Whittingham has worked overtime to recraft Michigan football in his own vision, and with his new resources, he's greatly overhauled much of the 'front office' of the Wolverines. And even though the spring game and spring ball are over and done with, he's not slowing down whatsoever.Amid the changes have been bringing in Dave Peloquin as general manager to replace Sean Magee, while Skylar Phan has taken over the director of recruiting post after Sam Popper departed for the assistant general manager position at San Diego State. Michigan didn't have an assistant general manager position, but according to a new report, it does now.Per ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel, the Wolverines have hired Berj Najaran to be the program's new assistant general manager with an eye on strategy.
He will work in contracts and negotiations within the program, further revolutionizing the program and potentially not only bringing it to the forefront in the NIL era, but perhaps even leading it.Sources: Michigan is set to hire Berj Najarian as the football program’s new assistant general manager/strategy. He’s going to help Kyle Whittingham’s program with contracts, negotiations and strategy for the new college sports landscape. pic.twitter.com/1byZQKK3QJ— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) April 24, 2026Najaran was a longtime confidant and the right-hand man of Bill Belichick during their shared tenure with the New England Patriots.
He served as the chief of staff at Boston College for a year after having spent 24 years with Belichick and the Patriots as the director of football. Here was his previous role per ESPN:Point-person for day-to-day operations of the team and acts as liaison across football and non-football departments. Najarian manages several elements of head coach Bill Belichick’s off-field agenda, including football and stadium operations, player and staff communication, scheduling and personal requests. In addition, Najarian manages various special projects in coaching and player personnel.Given that GM Peloquin came from Athlete's First, having worked on the other side of NIL, this feels like a move that's congruent with his experience, bringing in high-level talent that knows much about the administrative side of football.This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan football hires Bill Belichick's former aide