Did Kyle Whittingham work for Urban Meyer? Utah HC's professional career explored

Kyle Whittingham has been a staple of the University of Utah football program, having been the head coach since 2005. Before that, he spent 11 years in different coaching positions with the team, serving under several different head coaches, most notably Urban Meyer.

Did Kyle Whittingham work for Urban Meyer?

Yes, Kyle Whittingham worked for Urban Meyer for two seasons when Meyer was the head coach of the Utah Utes. During a recent interview, Meyer claimed that he hired Whittingham going against the advice of some other members of his staff. After Meyer left Utah, Whittingham took the head coaching position.

In his time with the Utes, he has won two Pac-12 titles, one Mountain West Conference title and four Pac-12 South Division titles. On a personal level, he has earned two Pac-12 Coach of the Year awards (2019, 2021), one MWC Coach of the Year award (2008), the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year award (2019), the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award (2008) and the AFCA Coach of the Year Award (2008).

Whittingham has the No. 11 Utes 3-0 into Week 4 of the season. Besides a fourth-quarter scare against Baylor in Week 2, they have looked really good.

Weber State versus Utah football

Kyle Whittingham's playing career

Kyle Whittingham played linebacker and occasionally running back for the BYU Cougars for four seasons between the late 1970s and the early 1980s. He earned All-Western Athletic Conference honors and WAC Defensive Player of the Year in 1981, and he played in the original four Holiday Bowls and was the MVP of the 1981 Holiday Bowl.

He went undrafted but was accepted into the practice squad of the 1982 Los Angeles Rams. He didn't make the cut come the start of the season. He played for Denver Gold and New Orleans Breakers in the USFL and the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League. In 1987 he returned to the Los Angeles Rams and played for their replacement squad.

Kyle Whittingham's coaching career

Whittingham started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, BYU, in the 1985 and 1986 seasons. From there, he took his first job in Utah, but with Eastern Utah, as its defensive coordinator for 1987.

This was followed by a five-year spell at Idaho State, where worked first as a linebackers coach and then as a defensive coordinator. What followed was the start of his lengthy relationship with the University of Utah.

In 1994, he became the Utes' defensive line coach. In 1995, he was promoted to defensive coordinator and remained in that position for 10 years until he replaced Urban Meyer at the head coaching spot in 2005.