A Guardian of the Game: Kyle Whittingham's take on the state and future of college football

Utah's head football coach predicts super leagues, reflects on his growth & offers advice

When he eventually rides his motorcycle off into the sunset, Kyle Whittingham is lock for the College Football Hall of Fame. He has built Utah football into a true threat to win its league and make serious noise in the College Football Playoff. Since he and I met in 2005 at the Fiesta Bowl, when the Utes put it on my Pitt Panthers, there was always something that stood out about him. Over the last 20 years, as I called Utah football games when the Utes were in the Mountain West, the Pac-12 and now, the Big-12, it was clear that the man in charge was willing to radically accept change.

I vividly recall a production meeting back in 2010, as I was broadcasting Utah at Iowa State, and the steady tone he had on our call and the thoughtfulness he had when describing his team was something that always stuck with me. I asked him, per my notes back then, “What is the message to your team?” 

His response: “Our team is about being unselfish.”

Safe to say that message still rings true in Salt Lake City.

This past July, Jim Thornby and I went to Big-12 Media Days in Las Vegas and were able to spend time with Coach Whittingham. We spoke about his team, the state of the game, his role as a ‘guardian of the game,’ his thoughts on the future of college football and of course, we had to ask for some advice as we launch Y-Option.

Our conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity:

Yogi Roth:  Thanks for the time. Love what you guys are about. And I know we're here at Media Days. I want to talk to you about philosophy, coaching philosophy. We've talked about this in the past. You're entering Year 20 running the program. You've been around this program for a long time and college football forever. How do you define yours with where you sit today, in this new landscape, in this new league with a talented team? 

Kyle Whittingham:  Yeah, well things are certainly different now than when I took over 20 years ago, I can tell you that, so it's a new ball game in so many different respects. We went from not being able to give a kid a ride to his dorm or a piece of pizza to giving him $100,000 in essence. And certainly the game has evolved. Hopefully we've done a good job of evolving and adapting to the changes. The transfer portal is another thing that’s been a big factor in your success or lack thereof.  I think we've done a terrific job in retaining our roster, for the most part.  We have lost a few guys here and there but by far, we’ve outgained ourselves with an influx of players from the portal.  So the net result of the portal on our roster has been very positive.  That’s really the name of the game.  Just adapting and keeping up with the times because if you don’t embrace it, you’re going to get left behind.

YR:  Let’s talk about that. I get to see a lot of high school quarterbacks. In the last two years, I thought they'd be totally different because of the money and the attention. They've been two of the best classes at Elite 11 I've ever been around. So I wonder for you, because you have these cornerstone principles: “You’re either in or you're in the way,” “You adapt to us, we don't adapt to you.” Have you had to hang on to those even tighter in this era or have you been pleasantly maybe surprised that players want those types of ideologies around them?

KW: We certainly have those tenets and beliefs and emphasize them. I believe our players really embrace it. Players love structure and discipline and structure, and they thrive in that environment. So that’s what we try to provide every single day.

YR: Is there anything around the game now that has kind of worried you about college football? Because you've been a guardian of this game for so long? 

KW:  Yeah, who knows where it's headed. I can tell you the transition and the changes are far from over with. My guess is there are going to be two super leagues, within the next 20 months to 4 or 5 years and you better be on the right side of that line in the sand when that is drawn because everyone else is going to be left behind.  So, I think that’s where things are headed, I think it's going to be a minor league NFL model and I don’t believe the NCAA will be involved at all.  They’ll have a commissioner that will do things their way.  You’ll see private equity continue to come to the party and be factors in the collegiate game. So, I think the experience so far is just the tip of the iceberg as far as what’s going to be here.

YR:  What do you think is going to be the line in the sand?

KW:  40 to 60 teams.

YR:  But will it be like the media market or will it be the success of the team? Or about the recent success of a team?

KW: It is all about getting into the power conferences. If you’re not in the power conferences… that’s where all the media markets, TV revenue… that’s where it's going to be. So that’s why I’m saying you better be on the right side of that line when you’re included.

YR:  It's interesting to hear you kind of predict a little bit about what may happen. If I go back, you've said this many times, but I was at your first press conference when you were the co-head coach of the Fiesta Bowl. 

KW:  Yeah, okay. 

YR:  And you and Coach Meyer and you've been a part of now three leagues. 

KW:  (puts up four fingers)

YR:  Four leagues. Yes, here comes your fourth league this season. You probably couldn't have predicted that then. When you look back at your career, do you have any time to put it into context? 

KW:  You know, sometimes I do stop and think about things and how dramatically things have changed, and what a wild ride it's been. And I'm blessed that I’ve been able to be in one place for as long as I have. And my kids have gone to the same school district and the same building.  I’m truly grateful for that. And the reason for that is great assistant coaches who do a great job recruiting. That’s the key to longevity for a football coach at the collegiate level is to surround yourself with great coaches and let them do their thing and recruit the right guys.

YR:  I talked to you at the Rose Bowl a couple years ago around your relationship with players evolving over the course of your time. How would you define how you approach that now at this stage in the career? 

KW:  Yeah, that's one of the lessons I learned. First, I thought I was just saying, let's work hard and let's do this, let's grind here and it will take care of itself. The psyche and mentality of the team is so important. I wasn't doing a good job of being in touch with them those first few years, but as I got into it deeper… I got to know the players better. I made sure to find out what they’re thinking, what’s going on in their lives off the field, not just what you see on the field. There are so many factors involved to make a great football team and that was an area that took me a little bit of time. But hopefully now, I’ve grasped that concept 100% and understand how important it is to know the mindset and pulse of the team.

YR:  I think you’re the blueprint of that to be honest with you. I mean I really believe this – you've been a conscience of the game.  And now, it's just funny to think about, Morgan running around the practice field at the Fiesta Bowl as a player and it was announced recently, he’s the coach in waiting…what’s that experience been like?

KW:  First of all, for me it's a no-brainer.  We have a lot of good coaches on our staff, many of them want to be head coaches. But for the transition that’s going to come at some point in the not too distant future, Morgan Scalley is the right guy.  He's a Utah guy, he's invested in the program, he's all in. He played high school ball in Utah, played at the University of Utah, right into coaching at the University of Utah when he was done playing and so there is nobody that has more of a vested interest in the success of our program than Morgan Scalley.

YR:  Ok coach, this season I’m sadly not going to be calling any games at Rice-Eccles Stadium. It breaks my heart. I will be calling games in the Big Ten, which will be a blast. In addition, we also launched this new endeavor called Y-Option, which is a cornerstone of the West Coast offense from a scheme standpoint and also a new show and newsletter that will discuss college football through the lens of the West Coast. Do you have some advice for kicking something off that's relatively new?

KW: Be yourself first of all, which I know you will be.  I know you believe in what you’re doing, so do it.  Don’t become wishy-washy and try a bunch of different things. Get what you believe ingrained and stick to that. Don’t meander off that path.

YR:  Thanks, Coach.