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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Kyle Whittingham made his first major move as Michigan's coach, firing embattled offensive coordinator Jason Beck.
"The results have not matched our desired outcome, and I felt that a change in leadership was required for our offense," Whittingham said in a statement Sunday night. "We need to put our offensive players and the entire team in the best possible position to be successful."
Whittingham named Jim Harding as interim offensive coordinator for the rest of the season. Harding is the team's offensive line coach and assistant head coach. He worked with Whittingham for 12 seasons at Utah, including two years as co-offensive coordinator.
The Wolverines (5-4, 2-4 Big Ten) started the season ranked No. 16 in the AP Top 25 and have fallen short of expectations with one of the nation's worst offenses, shaky special teams and a defense that has been solid at times.
Michigan might fall short of earning a bowl bid as underdogs at No. 18 Oregon (6-3, 3-2) on Saturday, at home against No. 4 UCLA and against rival and 21st-ranked Ohio State on the road.
The Wolverines barely avoided being shut out for the first time since 2014 against rival Michigan State, scoring with 1:35 left in a 15-6 loss after being favored to win by two touchdowns.
Michigan was been held scoreless in the first half three times in a season for the first time since 1979.
Purdue makes change
Purdue coach Barry Odom fired defensive coordinator Kevin Kane on Sunday, just nine games into his second stint as the Boilermakers' defensive play-caller.
The move announced by the school came one day after Purdue (3-6, 2-4 Big Ten) gave up 27 second-half points and multiple big plays in a 34-29 loss to Maryland. The victory allowed the Terrapins (3-6, 1-5) to snap a 13-game conference losing streak.
Fans had been clamoring for a change almost from the moment things went south following a season-opening win over Football Championship Subdivision school Indiana State.