Utah Football Head Coach Kyle Whittingham Explains Coaching Philosophy

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The manner in which any coach goes about his or her business has intrigued fans for centuries and the intrigue surrounding Utah football head coach Kyle Whittingham and his coaching philosophy is no different.

“Coach McBride was awesome, I learned a ton about recruiting, that was really his specialty was recruiting,” Whittingham said on a recent podcast with Pro Football Focus.”

The two years he spent with Urban Meyer, however, were “invaluable” according to Whittingham who admitted to being disappointed when he wasn’t appointed the head coach following Ron Mcbride’s departure in 2002.

“Just being able to watch him, and to work alongside him was invaluable,” Whittingham said. “With Urban it was a meticulous, detailed. The day-to-day operations everything was so mapped out, nothing was left to chance, everything was mapped out well in advance and just his organizational skills were really incredible and something that I needed to experience.”

📽 Reviewing the 2005 Fiesta Bowl and it's loaded with content

• Utah: 1st ever BCS buster (35-7 W)
• HC: Urban Meyer
• DC: Kyle Whittingham
• OC: Dan Mullen
• QB: Alex Smith
• Gary Danielson: "Meyer's offense won't work in the SEC — too much speed there!" pic.twitter.com/qhExou22a6

— Pick Six Previews (@PickSixPreviews) January 5, 2018

Whittingham’s development as a coach came from two very different coaches. Ron McBride was a players coach, a guy that the players played for and loved dearly. Whereas Urban Meyer was more of an old-school coach. He was intimidating, intense, and always working.

Those experiences have molded Whittingham into the coach he has become today. A leader that can play both roles. When Whittingham wants to intimidate and assert authority he can, but he has also shown to be a playful and loving leader.

Whittingham’s success at the University of Utah comes as no surprise given the leaders that he was able to work for before taking any head coaching role with the university.

McBride and Meyer are two of the most respected and regarded coaches of all-time in Utah. Combined, they have attributed to the success of Whittingham and proven as valuable resources for Whittingham to bounce ideas off.

Tom Hackett & Steve Bartle discusses this subject, among others, on their latest episode of the It’s Utah’s World podcast.