A graduate of Provo High School, Whittingham was all-state at linebacker and fullback and earned two letters in baseball for the Bulldogs. He remained in Provo and played college football for the BYU Cougars from 1978 through 1981, where his father Fred was the linebacker coach, later defensive coordinator, under longtime head coach LaVell Edwards.[2] In his senior season in 1981, he was the WAC Defensive Player of the Year,[1] and the defensive MVP of the Holiday Bowl. Whittingham played in the first four Holiday Bowls; he was a running back as a freshman in the inaugural and a linebacker in the next three, during which he recorded 27 tackles. In 2009, he was inducted into the Holiday Bowl Hall of Fame.[3]
Whittingham became a graduate assistant for BYU during the 1985 and 1986 seasons. In 1987, Whittingham was named defensive coordinator at the College of Eastern Utah. He coached there for a season before taking a job at Idaho State. After five seasons with Idaho State, Whittingham joined the Utah staff as defensive line coach, working alongside his father, Fred Whittingham. In the 1995 season, Whittingham replaced his father as the defensive coordinator, who had been hired as the linebackers coach for the Oakland Raiders. Whittingham remained the defensive coordinator for ten years, serving under both Ron McBride and Meyer, until being named head coach in 2004.
Head coaching career
The 2004 season ended with Utah becoming the first BCS non-AQ conference team to make a BCS bowl game, the Fiesta Bowl. After winning the Fiesta Bowl, the Utes' overall record improved to 12–0 under the leadership of junior starting quarterback Alex Smith (in his final season before declaring for the NFL draft) and head coach Urban Meyer, who announced his departure to the University of Florida in December 2004. After the regular season, and before the Fiesta Bowl, Whittingham was offered the head coaching job at Utah and also the head coaching job at his alma mater, Brigham Young University. After struggling with the decision for four days he chose the Utes.[4] Because Urban Meyer had already officially accepted the head coaching job at Florida before the Fiesta Bowl, Whittingham and Meyer acted as co-head coaches of the 2005 Fiesta Bowl. Utah and the NCAA credit the Fiesta Bowl to both Meyer and Whittingham.[5]
Whittingham's first season was an up and down ride for Utah as the team not only adjusted to a new coaching staff, including Andy Ludwig, but also a new offense led by quarterback Brian Johnson. Utah struggled early on, going 3–4 in their first 7 games, however, a strong finish gave Utah their third straight bowl invite.
In the 2005 Emerald Bowl the Utes faced the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Utah beat Georgia Tech 38–10, the Yellow Jackets' worst bowl loss by point margin in school history. Whittingham finished his first year at Utah with a 7–5 record.[6]
In 2006, Whittingham's team faced a degree of adversity. Starting quarterback Brett Ratliff struggled through parts of the year, and so did the Utes. Like the year before, the Utes rebounded toward the end of the season, but lost to rival BYU at home by a score of 33–31. The Utes became bowl eligible for the fourth straight year, a school record. Whittingham led the Utes to a 25–13 victory over the University of Tulsa in the 2006 Armed Forces Bowl, running his record to 15–10 (.600) with Utah.[7]
2007 would provide more adversity. In Johnson's first start since 2005, he broke his collarbone against Oregon State and starting running back Matt Asiata broke his leg as Utah got routed 24–7 by the Beavers. The following week, wide receiver Brent Casteel was lost for the season in an embarrassing 20–12 loss at home to Air Force.
Utah looked as if it righted the ship the following week with a 44–6 rout of No. 9 UCLA, the highest-ranked team ever defeated by the Utes. But the following week represented the worst week of Whittingham's head coaching career—a 27–0 loss to perennial cellar-dweller UNLV that had many wondering if Whittingham could survive as a head coach at Utah.
But like past seasons, the Utes regrouped and won seven consecutive games, using a stingy, big-play defense and the sledgehammer running attack of Darrell Mack (253 carries, 1,204 yards and 16 total touchdowns), who had been scheduled to redshirt in what was going to be his junior season. The Utes 50–0 drubbing of Wyoming proved controversial. Up 43–0 in the second half, Whittingham decided to go for an onside kick. An emotional Joe Glenn was caught on camera giving Whittingham the bird after the play. In the season finale, Utah suffered its second consecutive loss to rival BYU to end the regular season, 17–10.[8]
Whittingham and Utah overcame that disappointment to beat Navy, 35–32, in the 2007 Poinsettia Bowl. It marked the Utes' seventh consecutive bowl victory, which placed them second to Boston College in longest active bowl winning streaks.
In 2008, Utah completed an undefeated regular season and qualified for the 2009 Sugar Bowl. Along the way were wins at Michigan, late come-from-behind wins over Oregon State and TCU, and a convincing victory over rival BYU. Overall, Utah finished the regular season holding wins over three teams in the final AP Top 25.[9]
Utah defeated Alabama, 31–17, in the Sugar Bowl,[10] completing the fifth undefeated and untied season in school history.
The American Football Coaches Association selected Whittingham as the 2008 AFCA National Coach of the Year Award.[11] The announcement was made at the football coaches' convention, which Whittingham attended. The AFCA award is the oldest national coach of the year award, dating back to 1935, and is the only one chosen exclusively by the coaches.
In 2009, Utah had its second consecutive 10-win season. They finished with a 10–3 (6–2 MWC) record and a 37–27 win over California in the 2009 Poinsettia Bowl.[13] Whittingham helped the Utes reach these benchmarks with two new coordinators: Dave Schramm as the offensive coordinator and Kalani Sitake as the defensive coordinator. Utah's three losses came against teams that finished the season ranked: Oregon, TCU, and BYU who finished the season ranked No. 11, 6, and 12 in the AP Poll, respectively. Utah finished ranked No. 18 in both the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll.[14]
Whittingham turned down the head coaching position at Tennessee early in 2010.[15]
Utah started the 2010 season with an upset of then-15th ranked Pittsburgh.[16] The Utes then managed the third 8–0 start in program history, rising to fifth in the BCS rankings. However, during a 68–27 victory over Iowa State, Utah quarterback Jordan Wynn injured his arm and though he continued to play, the injury impacted the remainder of the season. After that 8–0 start, the Utes stumbled badly at home against the TCU Horned Frogs, lost a sloppy contest to Notre Dame and then bounced back to end the regular season with victories over San Diego State and rival Brigham Young University.
Due to the injury, Wynn, who finished the regular season in spite of his injury, missed the Las Vegas Bowl – a 26–3 loss to the Boise State Broncos.[17] It was the program's first bowl loss since the 1996 Copper Bowl and snapped a 9-game bowl winning streak, which was, at the time, the longest active streak in college football.[18]
The Utes finished the 2010 campaign with a 10–3 record.[19] It marked the first time in program history that Utah produced three consecutive ten-win seasons.[20]
In its inaugural season in the Pac-12 Conference, Utah finished with an 8–4 regular season record (4–5 in the Pac-12).[21][22] The Utes defeated Georgia Tech in the Sun Bowl by a score of 30–27 to end the season.[23]
2012
The Utes went 5–7 in the 2012 season, highlighted with a ranked victory over BYU on September 15.[24][25]
2013
Whittingham led Utah to a 4–2 start before a five-game losing streak.[26] The 2013 season ended with a high note with a 24–17 victory over Colorado to go 5–7.[27]
2014
Whittingham led the Utes to a 8–4 regular season mark in the 2014 season.[28] The season was highlighted by ranked victories over UCLA and USC.[29][30] The Utes defeated the Colorado State Rams 45–10 in the Las Vegas Bowl to end the season.[31]
2015
Whittingham led the Utes to a 6–0 start and a #3 ranking in the AP Poll before dropping a 42–24 result to USC.[32][33] The Utes finished the regular season with a 9–3 record.[34] The team qualified for the Las Vegas Bowl, which ended up being a 35–28 victory over BYU.[35]
2016
On January 29, 2016, The University of Utah announced Whittingham had agreed to a contract extension through the 2020 season. The contract will pay Whittingham $3.3 million per year.[36] This came on the heels of Whittingham surging past McBride to become the second-winningest coach in school history, behind only Ike Armstrong.
Whittingham led the Utes to a 8–4 mark in the regular season, which qualified them to the Foster Farms Bowl.[37] In the Foster Farms Bowl against Indiana, the Utes won 26–24.[38]
The Utes finished with a 9–3 regular season mark, which qualified them for the Pac-12 Championship Game.[41]
2019
Whittingham and the Utes opened up the 2019 season with a #14 ranking in the AP Poll.[42] The Utes started 3–0 before a 30–23 loss to USC.[43] The Utes reeled off an eight-game winning streak to qualify for the Pac-12 Championship Game, an eventual 37–15 loss to Oregon.[44][45] The Utes qualified for the Alamo Bowl, which ended up being a 38–10 loss to Texas.[46]
2020
Whittingham's contract at Utah was renewed through 2027 at around $5 million per year.[47][48] The Utes' 2020 season was shortened because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[49] They only played five games on the season, finishing with a 3–2 mark.[50]
2021
The Utes started off the 2021 season with a 4–3 start before reeling off a five game-winning streak to close out the regular season.[51] In that stretch was a 38–7 victory over third-ranked Oregon,[52] where Whittingham became the winningest coach in University of Utah football program history with 142 victories.[53][54] His total eclipsed that of coach Ike Armstrong, who amassed 141 wins from 1925 to 1949.[55] With their 9–3 record, Utah qualified for the Pac-12 Championship Game, a rematch against Oregon. In the game, Utah defeated Oregon 38–10.[56] The Utes qualified for the Rose Bowl, where they lost 48–45 to Ohio State.[57]
2022
Whittingham and the Utes started the 2022 season ranked #7 in the AP Poll for Utah's best ranking to start a season in school history.[58] However, the 2022 season started off with a 29–26 loss to the Florida Gators on the road to drop to #13.[59] Utah recovered with a four-game winning streak before a 42–32 setback to UCLA on the road.[60][61] The Utes put together another four-game winning streak, highlighted by a 43–42 upset over #7 USC.[60][62] The Utes split their final two games, a 20–17 loss to Oregon and a 63–21 victory over Colorado.[63][64] The team qualified for the Pac-12 Championship Game, a rematch against USC. The Utes defeated the Trojans 47–24 in the rematch.[65] The Utes qualified for the Rose Bowl against Penn State, where the Nittany Lions defeated the Utes 35–21.[66]
Personal life
Whittingham was born on November 21, 1959, in San Luis Obispo, California. His father, Fred Whittingham, played linebacker professionally for nine years and then coached at the college and the professional level for almost twenty years.[67][68]
Whittingham graduated from BYU with a bachelor's degree in educational psychology in 1982. In 1983, he married the former Jamie Daniels. Whittingham then earned a master's degree in professional leadership in 1986.[4] Whittingham and his wife have four children. Alex Whittingham, Tyler Whittingham, Melissa Whittingham, and Kylie Whittingham. He also is a father figure for Lincoln Riley after their time together in the Pac 12 conference.
In 2008, Whittingham and former Utah head coach Urban Meyer were the first people to donate money to the Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin Family Scholarship, an endowed scholarship which benefits the football program.[70][71]
In 2020, after Ty-Coreous Jordan, Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the year, was killed in a gun incident, Whittingham and his wife were the original donors to the Ty Jordan Memorial Fund with their donation of $100,000.[72] The following year, Aaron Lowe, Ty Jordan's childhood friend who also played for the University of Utah, was murdered at a house party hours after Utah's win against Washington State.[73] The Ty Jordan Memorial Fund was then renamed the 22 Forever Memorial Scholarship and Whittingham continues to make donations to that scholarship.[74]
