Michael Wilhoite (born December 7, 1986) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach and former

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

who was most recently the outside linebackers coach for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Washburn University Washburn University (WU), formally Washburn University of Topeka, is a public university in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs as well as professional programs in law and business. The university enroll ...

where he played six different positions, including linebacker and

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

. He was originally signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

Omaha Nighthawks The Omaha Nighthawks were a professional American football team based in Omaha, Nebraska, which played in the United Football League (2009–2012), United Football League, joining the league as an expansion team in 2010 UFL season, 2010. During ...

of the United Football League (UFL) in 2011.

Early years

Prior to playing in the NFL, Wilhoite's coaches would use him at other positions due to his athleticism, which also included

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

. He had played six different positions in total during his college career.

Professional career

Omaha Nighthawks

After going unselected in the

2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL draft was the 76th installment of the annual National Football League draft, NFL draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Rad ...

, Wilhoite signed with the

and spent the entire 2011 UFL season with them.

San Francisco 49ers

On December 14, 2011, Wilhoite was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

of the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

. He was waived for final roster cuts before the start of the 2012 season, but was signed back to the practice squad on September 1, 2012. After being on the practice squad for twelve weeks in 2012, he was promoted to the active roster. He finished with 11 tackles and made several key plays on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

during the 49ers run to

Super Bowl XLVII Super Bowl XLVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...

, where they fell 34–31 to the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

. After the Super Bowl, he remained part of the 49ers active roster the next season. Set to be a restricted free agent, Wilhoite was offered a tender by the 49ers on March 12, 2014. He signed his tender on April 21. On November 16, 2014, against the New York Giants, Wilhoite recorded his first career interception, which came off of

Eli Manning Elisha Nelson Manning (born January 3, 1981) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons with the New York Giants. A member of the Manning family, he is the youngest ...

. On March 8, 2016, Wilhoite signed a one-year contract extension with the 49ers.

Seattle Seahawks

On March 24, 2017, Wilhoite signed with the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

Coaching career

New Orleans Saints

Wilhoite was hired by the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

as a special teams assistant in 2019.

Los Angeles Chargers

On February 14, 2021, the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

hired Wilhoite as their linebackers coach. On January 19, 2023, Wilhoite was fired by the Chargers, despite developing success stories such as Kyzir White and Drue Tranquill.

Denver Broncos

On February 23, 2023, the

hired Wilhoite as their outside linebackers coach. On February 23, 2025, Wilhoite was arrested and charged with second-degree assault of a police officer following an altercation at the

Denver International Airport Denver International Airport , often referred to by locals as DIA, is an international airport in the Western United States, primarily serving metropolitan Denver, Colorado, as well as the greater Front Range Urban Corridor. At , Effective Ju ...

. Due to this incident, the Broncos announced on March 5 that they had fired Wilhoite.

References

External links

*
Washburn Ichabods bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilhoite, Michael 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Manhattan, Kansas Players of American football from Kansas American football linebackers Coaches of American football from Kansas Washburn Ichabods football players Omaha Nighthawks players San Francisco 49ers players Seattle Seahawks players New Orleans Saints coaches Los Angeles Chargers coaches Denver Broncos coaches