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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham announced Friday changes to his coaching staff at the end of Utah’s 9-4 season.
In a statement released Friday, Whittingham said assistant coach Dennis Erickson was retiring and that co-offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick “will not be retained.”
“Both Dennis and Aaron have been instrumental to the success of our program and we appreciate their contributions,” Whittingham said in a statement. “Dennis is one of the most respected coaches in the history of college football and the opportunity to work side by side with him and learn from him has been an invaluable experience. Aaron has been an incredibly loyal member of our staff for many years and has been an integral part of this program’s growth.”
Following Utah’s 26-24 bowl victory over Indiana Wednesday, Whittingham said that “everything is being evaluated coaching wise” and that he will “see what we can do better.”
Utah's offense struggled to gain traction under Roderick in his two years as the co-offensive coordinator. The passing game and struggles in the red zone were a consistent problem over Roderick’s tenure, particularly the 2016 season as Utah’s offense got worse.
Roderick has been on Whittingham’s coaching staff since he took over as head coach, spending 12 years on staff. Roderick started out as the team’s wide receiver coach before switching to the quarterbacks in 2014. He was named the co-offensive coordinator with Jim Harding in 2015.
Erickson has been the head coach at six colleges and two NFL teams. While at Miami, Erickson won two national titles. Erickson joined Utah in 2013 as the co-offensive coordinator with former Utah quarterback Brian Johnson. Erickson switched to focus solely on running backs in 2014.
Whittingham did not say when he expects to have their positions filled. Whether Harding takes over as the sole offensive coordinator is unknown and will be known at a later date.
I wanna thank coach Erickson for everything he's done for the Utah program and me he's truly a GREAT MAN AND COACH ! @EricksonUtes
— BlackHippy (@JWills_28) December 30, 2016
One of the greatest coaches in the game thank you for all that you have done for the program @EricksonUtes !
— Marcus Williams (@Babymagik32) December 30, 2016
