Michigan Adds Former Giants Executive Pettit, Several Staff Members to Program

Michigan football finalized a deal to bring former New York Giants director of college scouting Chris Pettit to Ann Arbor as assistant general manager of player personnel, the most prominent of six staff additions the program announced on March 23.

Pettit spent 18 seasons with the Giants, joining as a scouting intern in 2004 and working his way up to area scout before his promotion to director of college scouting in 2018. The longtime Giants executive contributed to Super Bowl victories in 2007 and 2011 before co-founding Scout Smarter AI, giving Michigan cutting-edge, data-driven evaluation tools for the NIL and portal eras. Pettit will work directly with Dave Peloquin, who was hired by Michigan in February as the program's general manager.

Michigan also welcomed back one of its own in Ron Bellamy, a former Wolverine wide receiver from 1999 to 2002 and a recent assistant coach under both Jim Harbaugh and Sherrone Moore, who returns as Senior Director of Recruiting Relations. His deep recruiting connections, Midwest relationships, and intimate understanding of Michigan culture make him a natural fit for player personnel and NIL work.

On the operations side, Whittingham and Peloquin announced four additional hires. Leading that group is Alayna Williamson, named Chief of Staff. She held the same role at Utah since 2024, where she helped streamline day-to-day program functions, player professional networking, and academic support. Her presence at Michigan has reportedly been ongoing for several months, ensuring continuity in Whittingham's operational systems in Ann Arbor.

Natalia Benitez-Hilton steps in as Director of Football Operations, bringing a career arc that began as a student equipment manager at Utah in 2020 before she rose to coach's assistant and director of on-campus recruiting with the Utes. She also spent time in professional sports with the Utah Jazz and Utah Mammoth before returning to the college game.

Evan Roka, a University of Michigan graduate and Corunna native, was elevated to Assistant Director of Operations. Roka previously worked in Michigan football operations and performance nutrition, giving the program an internal continuity piece alongside the outside additions. Ben Redell rounds out the group as Executive Assistant to the Head Coach and Director of Logistics, bringing nearly five years of collegiate football experience to the role.

The moves are part of Michigan's broader transformation under head coach Kyle Whittingham, who took over the program in December 2025. Whittingham agreed to a five-year contract to become the 22nd head football coach at the University of Michigan on December 26, 2025, replacing Sherrone Moore. The wave of front-office and operations hires reflects a deliberate effort to build an NFL-style personnel structure in Ann Arbor, with Pettit and Peloquin forming the evaluation backbone of a staff that now blends elite scouting pedigree, Utah operational experience, and Michigan institutional knowledge.