Kyle Whittingham — the newest superstar


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SALT LAKE CITY — Kyle Whittingham is a superstar.

He’s not just winning football games in the Pac-12, he’s not just the longest tenured coach in that conference, and he’s not just the third winningest coach in school history. He’s the state of Utah’s modern superstar.

First, I think I should define what makes a superstar.

A superstar’s production can’t vary greatly from year to year, or game-to-game, they must be consistent. A superstar must endure, despite facing adversity, a superstar must be able to withstand myriad difficulties thrown their way. A superstar has to win games. A superstar breaks the mold. A superstar must win games at the highest level. Superstars, when it looks like they might be in over their head, have to reinvent themselves and emerge better than they’ve ever been before.

And Whittingham is a superstar. Let's examine his qualifications.


"When it comes to production and consistency, Whittingham has you covered."

When it comes to production and consistency, Whittingham has you covered. He’s won eight games or more in seven of the last nine seasons, he sports a winning percentage of .725, which jumps to .875 when looking at the postseason only. He holds a stunning 8-1 record in nine overall bowl games.

In regards to adversity, the coach has seen his share. Football is riddled with injuries, coaching movement and wins and losses. How Whittingham responds to this adversity is what defines him. When the Utes lost Brian Johnson and Matt Asiata early in the 2007 season, Whittingham responded with a victory over a top 10-ranked UCLA team, the first of its kind for the school. And despite losing the next week to an often-miserable UNLV team in a scoreless route, Whittingham righted the ship and won 23 of his next 24 games.

There’s an old saying in sports, you never want to be the guy who replaces the guy. Essentially, you never want to follow a star, because it’s unlikely you’ll live up to the level they set. Urban Meyer arrived in Utah to a team that had a .500 record over its previous 3 seasons, stale in every sense of the word. Meyer, in two seasons at Utah, lost only two games. He was recognized by the Sporting News as the Coach of the Year, and was the first coach to lead a non-automatic qualifying team to a BCS bowl game. Big shoes to fill.

Whittingham, in his inaugural season as head coach, saw his team struggled to win seven games. The next season they won eight games, the next nine, and finally, in 2008, Whittingham led the Utes to an undefeated season and the best win in school history over a then 12-1, and the No. 4-ranked team in the country, Alabama. Whittingham didn’t just replace Urban Meyer, he surpassed him.

File Photo
File Photo

Whittingham’s success played a huge role in Utah’s adoption into the Pac-12. Without his impressive winning percentage, and impeccable bowl record, the Utes wouldn’t have been a viable candidate to make the jump from an average football conference to arguably the second best conference in all of college football. In his first Pac-12 season, Whittingham led the Utes to an impressive 8-5 season and his first bowl victory in the Pac-12.

And then it fell apart.

The Utes failed to qualify for postseason play for the first time in Whittingham’s career, then failed to do so in the following season. Whittingham was firmly on the coaching hot seat, as it looked like winning consistently in the Pac-12 may be just beyond the reach of the coach’s grasp.

Enter Kyle Whittingham 2.0. The reinvented, re-energized head coach that this year led his team to a miraculous 9-4 season. Not only did the Utes return to postseason play, the bottom line set for Whittingham to keep the support of his fan base, he blew past it. The Utes were in striking distance of the conference championship until the final week of the season, in the second toughest division, not just conference, in all of football. His team, despite replacing its starting quarterback just three series into the game, knocked off then No. 8-ranked UCLA on the road. Two weeks later, the Utes beat USC, a then top 20-ranked team, for the first time as a Pac-12 member.

The 2014 season isn’t Whittingham’s masterpiece, as he will forever be remembered for his undefeated 2008 season, in which he won the AFCA Coach of the Year award, and the Bear Bryant Award. But this year might be his most impressive. With his back against the wall, Whittingham, a coach thought to be in over his head, surpassed all expectations. He legitimized every win he had in the Mountain West Conference by showing his style translates to the highest levels of college football. He proved that in a conference full of coaches more akin to car salesmen, an old-school, defense-first coach can compete. And most importantly, he showed that when his team needs to succeed, and faith appears to be lost, he’ll rise to the occasion and be at his best.

Just like a superstar.

Ben Anderson is the co-host of "Gunther in the Afternoon" with Kyle Gunther on 1320 KFAN from 3-7 Monday through Friday. Follow Ben on Twitter @BenKFAN, and read Ben's Utah Jazz blog at 1320kfan.com.

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