Kyle Whittingham on Utah coaching future: Will make best decision for program, not for him

Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham revealed an interesting tidbit about his coaching future: keeping the program in mind first and foremost.

“Kyle Whittingham says he will make his decision about coaching next year based on what is best for the program, not what’s best for him,” Sean O’Connell of ESPN 700 wrote on Twitter.

Utah named DC Morgan Scalley the coach in waiting back in July.

“First of all, Morgan Scalley is an exceptional football coach,” Whittingham said at Big 12 Media Days. “He’s a proven commodity. He’s a Utah guy, played high school ball in the state of Utah, played at Utah, jumped right into coaching at the University of Utah when he was done playing. (And) He’s invested in this program as much as anybody ever has been.

“He knows our culture inside and out. To me, it’s very comforting for when that transition time does occur and it’s time for new leadership to have a guy that’s going to be able to carry on the values and the cultures that we’ve put in place.”

Whittingham did acknowledge Scalley will have his own vision, in addition to continuing the last 20 years of Utah football.

“Now, that’s not to say he won’t put his own stamp on it, because I fully expect that, but I believe that he is the right choice,” Whittingham said. “We have a lot of good coaches on our staff, guys that are going to be head coaches in the near future that are deserving as well. But for this program at this time, Morgan is the right fit.”

As it stands now, Utah is 4-7 in its first year in the Big 12. Whittingham is the school’s all-time leader in wins with a 166-86 record. He’s been the head coach since 2004, seeing Utah go through the Mountain West, Pac-12 and now Big 12 conference.

The 2020 season, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, was the last time Utah did not make a bowl game. In full seasons, Utah’s played in the postseason every year since the 2014 campaign.

Whittingham and Utah welcomed back Cam Rising at QB this season, his 7th year of college football. But injuries derailed his season again and the Utes never really recovered as a team.

After a 4-0 start to the year, Utah’s lost seven in a row despite a No. 10 ranking back on September 28th.