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SALT LAKE CITY — In February 2004, Facebook launched and forever changed the landscape of the internet and how the world would interact with one another in a new “social” world.
There was no such thing as YouTube or its viral capabilities, floppy disks were still the preferred storage device, iPhone’s were figurative items of a more advanced, future generation, and the devastating impact of hurricane Katrina had yet to be unleashed on a city that would be forever altered by its force and size.
It would also be a year that was good to the University of Utah and its football program, setting a new course for what football would mean in the state. Rising star head coach Urban Meyer had completed an undefeated season with future No. 1 pick in the 2005 NFL draft Alex Smith leading the charge.
More importantly, it would put Utah on the map, albeit one with a skeptical eye focusing hard on the program: Can a Mountain West Conference program really compete with the BCS powerhouses? Really?
Utah's success would land Meyer a head coaching job at Florida, all as the Utes celebrated the opportunity to “bust the BCS,” a now antiquated system of ranking college football teams. It also gave Utah its 20th head coach in program history: Kyle Whittingham.
The former BYU linebacker turned Utah defensive coordinator was immediately responsible for a program trending in an upward motion. Coaching his new team to a Fiesta Bowl victory over Pittsburgh, Whittingham secured his first win as a new head coach — a monumental win for Utah football.
Would Whittingham be able to sustain the success Meyer established or was Utah in for a harsh reality? It was a legitimate question to ask following an undefeated season. Making what now seems to be a meager salary ($675,000 per year) for a head coach, Whittingham dug in and continued to grow the program.
Four years later, Utah was back in the BCS discussion, ready to matchup against perennial powerhouse Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. With the odds drastically against Utah, the Sugar Bowl would be an opportunity for Whittingham to prove his mettle with “his” guys.
With a seemingly rare passing attack against Alabama, Utah quickly controlled the game, secured a victory and finished another undefeated season; a season fully under the reins of a Whittingham.
Now, 12 years after accepting the role as head coach, Whittingham is a game away from his 100th win as Utah prepares for a road matchup against Cal. It’s an accomplishment few coaches obtain, particularly while at one school — Whittingham will become the 86th coach in college football history to pass the 100-win mark with a single program.
Whittingham is the fourth-longest tenured head coach currently in college football. Only Bob Stoops at Oklahoma, Kirk Ferentz at Iowa and Gary Patterson at TCU have been with their respective programs longer.
Ask Whittingham his thoughts on the accomplishment that will happen soon and it’s simple: “Nothing."
"Business as usual.”
That's it!? It's win No. 100 and just another game?
Wins are important, but an arbitrary number equating success is meaningless and lost to Whittingham, who isn’t focusing on obtaining a certain number of wins or padding his legacy. Records are meaningless if one’s goals — win the Pac-12 and be in position to compete in the College Football Playoffs — fall short.
That singular-vision mentality has been one of the major reasons Whittingham has been able to have sustained success at Utah, even though a transition phase into the Pac-12, where the odds were and always are stacked against his program.
That's not to say things have always been sunshine and rainbows at Utah under Whittingham. After back-to-back losing seasons in 2012 and 2013 and then a cantankerous season in 2014 with an offensive coordinator that put the program in discord despite a 9-4 season, rumors circulated around the program that Whittingham was displeased and was on his way out the door.
Whittingham would later put the rumors to rest and assured the public that “we’re all pulling in the same direction trying to continue this program in a positive direction.”
With a shift in staffing, Whittingham’s team entered the 2015 season with a bang, beating a rising Michigan team, a dismantling of Oregon on the road and rising to a No. 3 ranking in the Associated Press poll.
Whittingham has weathered the storms over a 12-year career and appears to once again have a team capable of winning the conference. He’s been named the National Coach of the Year, has participated in more victories than any other football coach in school history and holds a 9-1 bowl record, which ranks him No. 1 among all coaches, current and past, in bowl winning percentages. It’s a record that narrowly beats out his former colleague and friend Urban Meyer, who holds a 9-2 bowl record and the No. 2 spot all-time.
Although win 100 may be “business as usual,” Whittingham has certainly cemented a spot in Utah history as one of its best, most impactful coaches.
