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Head Coach

Kyle Whittingham

KYLE WHITTINGHAM
Year at Utah: 18th
Career Record: 154-74
Bowl Record: 11-5

Kyle Whittingham, the longest-tenured coach in the Pac-12 Conference and the second-longest tenured head coach at the same school in the NCAA FBS, is in his 19th season at the helm at Utah in 2023, where he boasts a 154-74 record as the all-time wins leader.

  • Including 11 seasons as a Ute assistant coach, he has contributed to more victories (239) than any coach in program history.
  • He has coached in 354 games at Utah and 228 as the head coach.
  • His 154 career wins, which passed Ike Armstrong (141-55-15 in 211 games from ) for the all-time wins number, ranks third among active FBS coaches at the same school and in the top-15 among active FBS coaches overall (most in the Pac-12).
  • Utah has finished with a winning record in 16 of his 18 years as head coach, including in nine straight.

Whittingham has led the Utes to back-to-back Pac-12 titles (2021, 2022) with the Utes also winning at least a share of the Pac-12 South four times (2015 – shared, 2018, 2019, 2021) before divisions were dissolved in 2022.

  • He has won three National Coach of the Year recognitions – two in 2008 and one in 2019. He was the AFCA Coach of the Year and Bear Bryant Award winner in 2008, and the Dodd Trophy Coach of the Year in 2019.
  • In 2019 he also won AFCA Regional Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the AFCA Coach of the Year and Bear Bryant Award.
  • He has also won Pac-12 Coach of the Year twice in the last five seasons (2019, 2021).
  • In 2021, Whittingham was a finalist for the Bear Bryant Award and the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award.

Legendary for his postseason success, his 11 bowl wins (11-5) ties him for second among active coaches and ranks in the top-10 all-time. His postseason record includes a 2-2 mark in College Football Playoff New Year’s Six bowls with wins over Pittsburgh in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl (co-head coach) and Alabama in the 2009 Sugar Bowl.

The Utes appeared in every weekly CFP top-25 for the first three years of the system (2014-16) and have tied for the seventh-most appearances of any school with 42 total.

  • Utah has finished in the CFP top-25 in seven seasons: No. 22 in 2014 and 2015, No. 19 in 2016, No. 17 in 2018, No. 11 in 2019, No. 11 in 2021 and its highest-ever ranking at No. 8 in 2022.
  • The Utes have also made the final AP top-25 seven times and the final Coaches’ poll eight times under Whittingham.
  • Whittingham’s teams have also performed well against AP top-25 teams, recording 21 wins against ranked opponents, including top-10 victories over No. 4 Alabama (2009), No. 5 Stanford (2013), No. 8 UCLA (2014), No. 4 Oregon (2021, regular season), again when the Ducks were ranked No. 10 in the Pac-12 Championship game, vs. No. 7 USC (2022, regular season) and again against the Trojans when they were ranked No. 4 in the 2022 Pac-12 Championship game.
  • Whittingham also has a winning record against the ACC (7-1), Big Ten (4-3) and the Big 12 (5-4).

Individually, Whittingham has had 34 players make All-America teams, including 18 that have made major All-America first-teams (those determining NCAA’s consensus team) with nine earning consensus or unanimous honors.

  • The first-team All-Americans are Luther Elliss, DL (1994, consensus); Eric Weddle, DB (2006 consensus); Louie Sakoda, P (2007, 2008 unanimous); Zane Beadles, OL (2009); Shaky Smithson, PR (2010); Star Lotulelei, DT (2012); Reggie Dunn, KR (2012); Nate Orchard, DE (2014); Kaelin Clay, RS (2014); Tom Hackett, P (2014 consensus, 2015 unanimous); Mitch Wishnowsky, P (2016 unanimous); Matt Gay, PK (2017 consensus); Bradlee Anae, DE (2019 consensus); Julian Blackmon, S (2019); Leki Fotu, DT (2019); Jaylon Johnson, CB (2019), Zack Moss, RB (2019), Britain Covey, RS (2021); Devin Lloyd, LB (2021 consensus); Clark Phillips III, CB (2022 unanimous).
  • He also coached major national award winners in the Ray Guy Award (2014, 2015 Tom Hackett; 2016 Mitch Wishnowsky), the Lou Groza Award (2017 Matt Gay) and the Ted Hendricks Award (2014 Nate Orchard).
  • Utah boasted a school-record five All-Americans in 2019.

Whittingham’s players have also won a total of 103 first-team all-conference awards, including 52 in Utah’s 12 seasons of Pac-12 membership.

  • Utah has had 31 first-team selections since 2018, leading the Pac-12 in first-teamers in 2018 and 2021.
  • Three of his players have been three-time first-team All-Pac-12 honorees: Hackett from 2013-15, Wishnowky from 2016-18 and Covey from 2015-21.
  • The Utes have also captured the Morris Trophy six times, which recognizes the Pac-12’s best lineman, offensive and defensive, as voted on by the starting linemen on the other teams (DT Lotulelei in 2011, DE Orchard in 2014, OL Isaac Asiata in 2016, Anae in 2019, OL Nick Ford in 2021, DE Mika Tafua in 2021).
  • Utah has also been honored with Pac-12 yearly awards in recent years: Zack Moss, Offensive POY, 2019; Ty Jordan, Offensive Freshman OY, 2020; Devin Lloyd, Pat Tillman Defensive POY, 2021; Junior Tafuna, Defensive Freshman OY, 2021; Lander Barton, Defensive Freshman OY, 2022.
  • Prior to joining the Pac-12, Whittingham coached a Mountain West Conference MVP in five-straight seasons: Defensive Players of the Year Scalley (2004) and Weddle (2005 and 2006), Special Teams Player of the Year Sakoda (2006, 2007, 2008), and Offensive Player of the Year Brian Johnson (2008).

Now in his 30th year overall at Utah, he is coming off back-to-back trips to the Rose Bowl and league titles.

In 2022, the back-to-back Pac-12 Champs finished with its highest final CFP Poll ranking in program history, ending the year ranked No. 8 at the Rose Bowl with a 10-4 overall record.

  • The Utes became just the third team in Pac-12 Conference history to win back-to-back championship games.
  • Utah claimed its seventh 10-win season under Whittingham in 2022.
  • Utah finished the season leading the Pac-12 in eight different statistical categories, also finishing second in total defense and rushing offense.
  • He saw cornerback Clark Phillips III become Utah’s fourth unanimous All-American in program history.

After starting the 2021 season 1-2 and having two student-athletes pass away less than 10 months apart from each other, “family on 3” truly came to life as Whittingham rallied the team together to win nine of its final 11 games of the season with the program’s first-ever Pac-12 Championship game win and a trip to the Rose Bowl.

  • Utah was awarded the 2021 Capital One Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award in 2021 after enduring the loss of two teammates while continuing on in one of the most successful seasons in program history.
  • The Utes ended the season ranked No. 11 in the final CFP Poll, tying for its highest season finish in program history.
  • Utah also finished the season ranked No. 12 in both the final AP and Coaches polls, its highest finish since 2008 (No. 2 in AP, No. 4 in Coaches).
  • Utah defeated three AP Top 25 opponents in 2021 (No.18 Arizona State, No. 4 Oregon, No. 10 Oregon), the most in a single-season since Utah’s Sugar Bowl run in 2008.
  • Utah’s 8-1 Pac-12 record in 2021 tied for the single-season best for the Utes (also finished 8-1 in 2019).

The 2021 season was compared to Utah’s Sugar Bowl year multiple times after Whittingham engineered one of the best seasons in Utah Football history. The Utes went 13-0 in 2008, concluding the season with a 31-17 Sugar Bowl rout of Alabama, a team that had spent five weeks at No. 1.

  • Utah was declared the national champion that season by major selector Anderson/Hester and was ranked No. 2 in the final AP poll.
  • Utah was the only undefeated FBS team in 2008, beating four top-25 team, including two that finished in the top 10.
  • Whittingham was recognized as the National Coach of the Year by the AFCA and the Bear Bryant Award winner, also earning Mountain West Coach of the Year.

In similar fashion, the 2019 Utes finished the season 11-3 overall, the third-most wins in school history after winning their second-straight Pac-12 South Title, earning a spot in the Alamo Bowl.

  • Utah finished the year ranked No. 11 in the final CFP Poll, the highest ranking in program history.
  • Utah also finished the year ranked No. 16 in the final AP Poll and the Coaches Poll, the fourth-highest final ranking in program history.
  • Utah’s 8-1 conference record in 2019 was the best by the Utes since becoming a Pac-12 member.
  • Utah’s eight-game winning streak from Sept. 28-Nov. 30 was its longest in a single-season since 2010 (8 in a row). It was the first time since joining the conference that the Utes had defeated eight consecutive Pac-12 opponents.

In addition to Utah’s in-season success, Whittingham also has a reputation for developing NFL talent on a yearly basis. Utah has had 25 selections in the six drafts from 2017-23, which ranks second among all Pac-12 schools.

  • Tight end Dalton Kincaid was drafted in the first round (25th overall) in 2023, marking the first time in program history the Utes have had back-to-back years with first round picks.
  • In 2022, linebacker Devin Lloyd became Utah’s ninth first round pick in school history, going 27th overall to Jacksonville. It was Utah’s highest-drafted linebacker in program history.
  • Seven Utes were drafted in 2020, the most in the Pac-12 and tied for fifth-most in the nation.
  • Utah had a school-record eight NFL draft picks in 2017, which led the Pac-12 and tied for third in the country.
  • In 2010, six Utes were drafted (tied for fourth nationally) with five also drafted in 2019. In 2019, Utah had two special teams players (Wishnowsky, Gay) drafted, the first time since 1985 that a punter and a kicker from the same school were drafted in the same year.
  • As an assistant or a head coach, 103 of Whittingham’s players have signed contracts with NFL teams (60 draft picks, including 15 first or second round selections, and 43 undrafted free agents).

Utah has also excelled academically under Whittingham. Since he became head coach in 2005, his players have earned six Academic All-America selections and 371 academic all-conference/academic honor roll awards.

  • Britain Covey became Utah’s first-ever Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2021 after being a two-time Academic All-American.
  • Utah Football received public recognition from the NCAA for posting multi-year Academic Progress Report (APR) in the top 10 percent of all athletic teams in the country from 2016-20, including a perfect single-year APR score of 1000 in 2017-18.
  • The AFCA also gave Utah an Academic Achievement Award for recording a perfect 100-percent single-year NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) in 2017 and 2019.
  • Utah has eclipsed 90-percent over the last five years and its 90-percent score for 2021 was second in the Pac-12.

Whittingham began his coaching career in 1985-86 as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Brigham Young. He spent one season as the defensive coordinator at the College of Eastern Utah in 1987, before a six-year stint at Idaho State from 1988-93.

A linebacker for BYU from 1978-81, Whittingham earned first-team all-WAC and WAC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1981. He played in the first four Holiday Bowls and was named Defensive MVP of the 1981 game. In 2009, he was inducted into the Holiday Bowl Hall of Fame. After his senior season, Whittingham played in the Hula and Japan Bowls. He played professionally with the Denver Broncos (1982 training camp) and the U.S. Football League’s (USFL) Denver Gold (1983) and New Orleans Breakers (1984). He played on the Los Angeles Rams’ replacement squad in 1987.

Whittingham graduated from BYU in 1984 and added a master’s degree from the school in 1987. Born Nov. 21, 1959, he was raised in Provo, Utah. He is married to the former Jamie Daniels. They have four children: Tyler, Melissa, Alex and Kylie, and six grandchildren. Tyler and Alex both played for the Utes.