Why ESPN’s Surprising No. 9 Coaching Pick Could Change the College Football Landscape

Last season was, well, a tough pill to swallow for both Kyle Whittingham and the Utah faithful. When your star quarterback, Cam Rising, spends more time on the sidelines than on the field, you can expect the offense to hit a rough patch — and hit it did, culminating in a rare 5-7 losing record. That’s just the third stumble in two decades for Whittingham, a coach who’s built an enduring legacy in Salt Lake City. Behind the scenes, drama simmered — Rising’s injury saga, a midseason offensive coordinator exit, and underwhelming backup performances — but none of it masked the undeniable truth: the team struggled without its offensive heartbeat. Whittingham himself admitted feeling lost, likening the experience to the ‘Twilight Zone,’ marking the hardest stretch of his extensive career. Yet, just a year before, the Utes had buzzed with promise amidst plenty of injuries, finishing 8-5 with signature wins that reminded everyone why Whittingham’s still among the coaching elite, even as the landscape shifts around him. Now, with the 2025 season on the horizon, fresh faces like Devon Dampier step into the spotlight, casting an intriguing shadow over what lies ahead. Can Whittingham rally his troops for a rebound? The stakes have never been higher — and the story is far from over. LEARN MORE

While last year was certainly forgettable for Whittingham and Utah’s fans, it came right after what one of the longtime coach’s better performances in 2023, when the Utes went 8-5 despite a laundry list of injuries to key players that included Rising, tight end Brant Kuithe, tight end Thomas Yassmin, running back Chris Curry, wide receiver Mycah Pittman, linebacker Lander Barton, defensive end Logan Fano and defensive end Jonah Elliss (missed last two games), plus running back Micah Bernard, who missed all but two games.Off the field, there was never a dull moment in a season that featured Rising’s injury saga and Whittingham’s gamesmanship surrounding it, a midseason resignation by offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig and middling play by Utah’s backup quarterbacks, but on the field, the team couldn’t overcome the loss of their offensive leader.Whittingham’s contract runs through 2027, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if the 2025 season is the longtime coach’s last before calling it quits, but only he knows when that will be.There’s no doubt that last season wasn’t up to Kyle Whittingham and Utah fans’ expectations.“Whittingham guided Utah to conference or division titles in the team’s final four seasons in the Pac-12. He won nine or more games seven times between 2014 and 2022. The past two seasons have been disappointing but were sidetracked by quarterback Cam Rising’s injury issues. Whittingham’s consistency in generating wins and producing NFL players despite unremarkable recruiting classes points to his talent as a coach.”Though the Utes floundered down the stretch that season, unable to overcome offensive struggles, an 8-5 season with wins over Florida, USC and UCLA was impressive and showed Whittingham could still coach with the best of them 19 years into his career.In the process, he’s turned Utah into a Power Four team with staying power.With quarterback Cam Rising on the sideline for the majority of the season, Utah’s offense struggled and the Utes turned in a 5-7 record — just the third losing season in Whittingham’s 20-year career at the helm in Salt Lake City.Back-to-back Pac-12 championships cemented Whittingham’s legacy with the program forever, but there is some amount of pressure on the head coach to spur a comeback season after two seasons of less-than-stellar offensive play. With plenty of unknowns on offense and a new starting quarterback in Devon Dampier, the 2025 season is setting up to be intriguing for the Utes and Whittingham. After defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley was named Utah’s “head-coach-in-waiting” prior to the 2024 season, speculation abounded regarding Whittingham’s future, especially as a difficult season drew to a close. But after weeks came and went without an announcement, the assumption was it was business as usual, and Whittingham made it official on Dec. 8.Whittingham — the first coach not from the SEC or Big Ten — checked in at No. 9 on the list. Iowa State’s Matt Campbell, who guided the Cyclones to the Big 12 title game last season, is the only other Big 12 coach on the list, at No. 10.Whittingham’s illustrious career has spanned three conferences (Mountain West, Pac-12 and Big 12), resulted in 167 wins, three conference championships (one in the MWC, two in the Pac-12), and an undefeated season capped off with a Sugar Bowl win over Alabama in 2008.“I tend to zoom out on these evaluations, and Whittingham’s accomplishments at a program like Utah, which lacks baked-in advantages of national powers and has been in four different conferences since 1998, is remarkable,” ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg wrote. “Right now, I’m in the ‘Twilight Zone,’” Whittingham said after losing to Colorado in November, the Utes’ sixth straight loss of the season. “It’s been the most difficult year of my coaching career, hands down.”ESPN’s college football reporters came together to rank the Top 10 coaches in the sport heading into 2025, with Georgia’s Kirby Smart the clear favorite at No. 1.Entering his 21st year, Whittingham still commands national respect, as evidenced by a recent ESPN article that lists him among the best in the sport.