Kyle Whittingham steps down as Utah head coach ending a historic era

The writing had been on the wall for several seasons, and on Friday Afternoon, the incredible run by Kyle Whittingham at Utah came to an end. The legendary head coach stepped down from his post leading the Utah Utes after leading the program for 21 seasons, and a game in 2004 as the Interim head coach.

Kyle Whittingham will lead the team once more in the Las Vegas Bowl on New Year's Eve giving the team and the fanbase a chance to give him a proper send off as he's more than deserving of a farewell.

The Utes' head coach should be best known as someone who guided the team through several major transitions. When Whittingham started his career, Utah was in the Mountain West, where he won a conference championship in 2008 with an incredible undefeated season, finishing 4th in the coaches poll and 2nd in the AP Poll.

In 2011, Utah joined the Pac 12, where he was tasked with leading this program against much tougher competition. The Utes found plenty of success in a conference with blue bloods, winning back-to-back Pac 12 Championships in 2021 and 2022 while making 5 Pac 12 Championship games.

The last two seasons Utah has spent in the Big 12 as conference realignment shook the sport. His first season was far from a success as quarterback injuries resulted in the team finishing 5-7. This past season, Whittingham showed he could still win at a high level in this era, leading his team to a 10-2 finish as they were a fixture of the College Football Playoff debate.

The Utah Utes now have a massive hole to fill, as it's never easy to replace the winningest coach in program history. The good news for Utah is that they have the perfect candidate to keep the program rolling as Utah alum and defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley will takeover, and based on how much the program means to him this should be a seamless transition.

Kyle Whittingham ends his career with a 177-88 record, which is remarkable considering the teams they faced in the Pac-12 for years. The most remarkable part about the Utes' success was the way Whittingham developed players, and it's fitting that he departs with two players expected to be first-round picks in Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu.