Whittingham leaving?
by JazzyUte on Sep 30, 2008 12:48 PM MDT
in Football
3 comments
On the front page of Yahoo's college football page is an interesting article on Kyle Whittingham possibly leaving Utah.
The article can be read here. I remember in 2004 there were a lot of stories about Urban Meyer leaving the Utes. We all expected it, but Whittingham feels different. He's tied to Utah more than any coach in Utah football history and you think that would factor into it. Of course, when you're dealing with money, things change.
But I think it would take the right offer for Whittingham to leave the Utes. It's not going to be for a program back east, so if a BCS conference team were to come calling, they'd most likely be from the Big 12 or Pac Ten and maybe the Big Ten. Which leaves only a handful of teams that realistically will be looking for a new coach next season.
In my opinion, they are:
Arizona - Mike Stoops needs seven wins if he's going to save his job. It's possible the Wildcats reach that mark, as they're already 3-1 and have all their toughest games at home.
Washington - I remember the morning I logged online and on my home browser page, Yahoo, saw Notre Dame had fired Ty Willingham. My heart dropped, because I knew their first candidate would be Urban Meyer. I was right, they came hard at Meyer, but he eventually went to Florida. Will Willingham play another role in a Utah coach leaving? Well the Huskies are almost certainly going to fire him, which leaves a West Coast vacancy and a program that could be very lucrative to Whittingham. But I don't think he would be their first option, with Chris Petersen probably leading the list and Bronco Mendenhall closely behind.
Oregon - Mike Bellotti might just decide to call it quits, or maybe the Ducks stumble again and finish with six or seven wins. It's possible with the injuries they have on offense and their schedule, which have them playing road games against USC, Arizona State, Cal and Oregon State. If Oregon drops them all, it's another 7-5 season, will fans in Eugene put up with that? If not, maybe Oregon decides to make some changes. If they do, Whittingham could be at the top of their list.
It's still pretty early and anything can happen, but it offers a different twist for this season.
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I am in favor of Whittingham getting some deserved respect
However, this writer did not do his homework:
There is almost no doubt Whittingham, 48, will move on to a “Big Six” job if he is able to get the Utes into a BCS bowl. He likely will be in high demand even if he falls a bit short of delivering the school’s second BCS appearance.
No doubt that Whittingham will leave? He has worked his way up the ranks at Utah having started as a defensive line coach in 1991. This isn’t really analogous to the situation with Urban Meyer who the Utes more or less knew they were renting for a while. He has been with the program for seventeen years!
He could leave for the right situation, but there is a lot of doubt that the right situation for Coach Whittingham will be available this year. He is not going to jump ship for a bad program just because they happen to be a “Big Six” school.
If you connect the dots, it’s easy to see Willingham would be a terrific fit at Washington.
I believe Willingham is already at Washington. Who edits these articles anyway?
And should Whittingham leave, don’t be shocked if offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig was promoted.
I would be extremely shocked if Ludwig were to be promoted. He is not winning any popularity contests right now.
I think Ludwig is doing a compentent job; don’t get me wrong. I am a sometime Ludwig defender, but most Utah fans are not happy with him. Hiring him as the head coach would be a good way to see season ticket holders cancel en masse.
by Ute in DC on Sep 30, 2008 4:20 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs
I agree with you.
I don’t think it’s very likely and the article is filled with errors.
To their credit, though, with Whittingham/Willingham spelled nearly the same way, I think they meant Whittingham there. It doesn’t change the fact it should have been picked up in editing, though.
And no, Ludwig won’t be Utah’s next HC if Whittingham leaves. I actually think Ludwig will get HC job if Utah goes 12-0, but it won’t be here. If Whittingham leaves, Gary Andersen is the next Utah HC.
by JazzyUte on Sep 30, 2008 6:06 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs
Whittingham leaving
I don’t think Whit would leave Utah for any “Big six” (I hate that term) job. Should Whit run the table and win another BCS Bowl, he can truly state that Utah IS a BCS School, though not currently in a BCS conference. I think Whit could be encouraged to stay…along with more $$$…and either help make the MWC even more competitive with the other large conferences and eventually be the coach of the school, or one of the schools to bring down the BCS altogether and eliminate that despicable prejudice that now pervades college football and football writers, the BCS.. That would not only make his place in Utah history and be a part of collegiate history, but MAKE collegiate history.
As far as Lud getting the HC job should Whit leave…nah, I don’t see it.
by MississippiUte on Sep 30, 2008 6:38 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs
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