Last week I asked Ute fans whether they approved or disapproved of the job Coach Whittingham was doing. And while this poll is entirely unscientific, I thought I'd take a look at the results.
69 people voted as of the posting of this article. Of those 69, 52% said they somewhat approved of Coach Whittingham, while 34% said they strongly approve. That's a whopping 86% approval from Utah fans. Last season I asked the same question and only 27% of Ute fans either strongly approved or somewhat approved of the job Whittingham was doing. 12% said they disapproved of the job he was doing.
So why the dramatic increase? Well for one, I asked the question during the worst stretch of Utah's season last year. There is no denying that a bulk of sports fans are emotionally erratic, nearly jumping off the ledge when things are dicey and feeling near invincibility when things are going well. Since that poll, Utah finished the season with 8 wins, came a play from defeating a nationally ranked BYU team and won the team's sixth straight bowl game. That was followed up by a solid recruiting class and general optimism leading into the 2007 season. Of course, what if Utah starts the season 3-3, will Whittingham's ratings slip back into the 20s? Hopefully that won't happen, so we'll never know the answer to that question.
Regardless of what happens, it appears Whittingham has the backing of Utah fans right now. That may change, but currently he's doing all the right things. Hopefully that results in victories this season and we can all, without a doubt, say we approve of the job Kyle Whittingham is doing.
As a follow up though, I want to know where you would rank Whittingham currently compared to recent coaches. The results of this poll should be interesting. Vote Here.