Holy Score: On Kyle Whittingham’s move to Michigan, backlash against Utah and the surreal moment that changed trajectories
News that Kyle Whittingham had accepted Michigan’s offer Friday left us pondering not only the past 15 days but also the past 15 months, with all the wild twists life has taken for the future Hall of Fame coach and the program he led for 21 years.
Specifically, we mulled the events within the context of the movie Sliding Doors, in which two futures unfold for the character played by Gwyneth Paltrow based on something as seemingly innocuous as whether she makes her scheduled subway or misses it by fractions of a second and is forced to take the next train.
For Utah and Whittingham, the Sliding Doors moment occurred Sept. 7, 2024, when quarterback Cam Rising slammed into a bank of water coolers on the Baylor bench placed unusually close to the playing field.
What if the coolers had been a few feet back, in their standard position?
What if Rising’s body position had been altered slightly, so the collision occurred with his shoulder or forearm?
What if he hadn’t sustained a severe hand injury that would kneecap the Utes and lead to Whittingham’s worst season in more than a decade?
If Rising remains healthy and the Utes are as good as projected in their inaugural season in the Big 12, then Whittingham likely does exactly what the university expected months earlier when it named defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley the coach-in-waiting: He retires.
In that scenario, Whittingham isn’t available for Michigan — or isn’t as viable a candidate after being out of the game for a year — and the Wolverines are forced to turn elsewhere for a savior.
Instead, Rising’s hand slammed into the misplaced water cooler, Utah crashed and burned, Whittingham took nine days to ponder retirement, determined he could not leave on the lowest of notes, orchestrated a 10-win season and stepped down with energy left just two days after the Michigan job unexpectedly opened.
“It just didn’t sit right with anybody (in 2024), particularly me, and so I came back,” he explained earlier this month. “Fortunately, we were able to get the ship righted and everything’s on track. The program, like I said, is in a good spot … So now is the time.”
But the elapsed time carried consequences for Scalley and Utah’s administration. At risk of losing their chosen successor if Whittingham returned (again), the Utes, with president Taylor Randall heavily involved, ever-so-slightly nudged Whittingham toward the door.
Being a company man — a Utah Man — Whittingham recognized the moment.
“I didn’t want to be that hanger-on that just kept — people just got sick of,” he said.
Other thoughts on the thunderous news from Ann Arbor:
— Whittingham’s five-year deal with the Wolverines wasn’t yet official Friday when the critics emerged on social media and roasted Utah for not doing everything possible to retain Whittingham for as long as possible, even if it meant losing Scalley to another school.
Whittingham is good enough for one of the most storied programs in college football but not good enough for the Utes?
The optics are awful, but the logic is sound.
The Utes didn’t blow it. Quite the opposite, in fact.
This is a win-win-win situation: The right time for a change in Salt Lake City; a great opportunity for Whittingham; and a masterstroke for Michigan.
Had the 66-year-old Whittingham stuck around, the Utes would have risked more than Scalley’s allegiance. They could have descended into an untenable, inescapable situation for years to come.
Imagine Whittingham being either energized by good seasons or motivated by bad ones, year after year after year, until the school and its coach become locked in a state of codependency into the 2030s.
That would have been far worse than an amicable separation unfolding with the program on solid ground, with Scalley ready to take charge and with Whittingham off to a terrific opportunity in Ann Arbor.
— In his 2024 decision to return and his 2025 decision to step down, Whittingham said he was prioritizing what was best for the football program, not for him personally. But what happens next will shape his legacy.
Will Whittingham don the cape of a hypocrite and use Michigan’s immense wealth to raid Utah’s coaching staff and roster?
At this moment, he’s a Utah legend, squarely on the right side of history with the respect of the entire university community.
But if he plunders the program and leaves Scalley with a barren roster, that changes: Whittingham would instantly become persona non grata in Salt Lake City, his legacy tarnished forever.
Nothing would turn Utah fans against their icon like roster poaching.
Does leaving the program “in a good spot” matter to Whittingham? Or was it the cheapest of talk?
— In all regards except for his close ties with former Ohio State coach (and lifelong Michigan antagonist) Urban Meyer, Whittingham is the ideal choice for the job in Ann Arbor.
His age isn’t an issue. He has more than enough energy and passion to last four or five years, which is more than enough time to leave his mark.
This isn’t intended to be a forever hire for the Wolverines. After five years of scandals and embarrassment, Michigan needs a proven winner whose character is above reproach.
No personal transgressions.
No NCAA compliance issues.
Just an old-fashioned philosophy tweaked to fit the sport’s post-modern landscape.
Whittingham’s coaching style, rooted in punishing play at the line of scrimmage, suits the Michigan approach dating back to the Bo Schembechler era.
He is more of a Michigan Man than many of the men employed by Michigan in recent years.
The Wolverines have been an embarrassment for years, from Jim Harbaugh’s excesses to the Connor Stalions sign-stealing scandal to Sherrone Moore’s tragic missteps.
They emerged with a better outcome than they had any right to imagine.
The same is true, in many regards, for Whittingham. And it might have all been different had those water coolers been placed a few feet farther back.
*** Send suggestions, comments and tips (confidentiality guaranteed) to wilnerhotline@bayareanewsgroup.com or call 408-920-5716
*** Follow me on the social media platform X: @WilnerHotline