Kyle Whittingham could be on his way out at Utah following a successful run at the school.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the relationship between Whittingham and the school’s athletic director, Chris Hill, is “severely fractured, perhaps irreparably.”
The source of the report seems to come from Whittingham’s side because details are given about the coach approaching the AD for improved contracts either for himself or for his assistants. In each case, the coaches did not appear to get what they wanted.
Utah has already lost three assistant coaches, including their offensive and defensive coordinators, to other schools. Two top defensive assistants — DC Kalani Sitake and defensive line coach Ilaisa Tuiaki left Utah to join Gary Andersen’s staff at Oregon State — while offensive coordinator Dave Christensen left to become an offensive coach at Texas A&M.
The Tribune says Whittingham has met with administrators at other schools, indicating he could be next to leave.
Perhaps the information included in this report was leaked to the paper to put pressure on the school to get rid of Hill. Regardless, it is clear the information makes the administration look bad and responsible for the exodus of coaches.
Whittingham has gone 84-43 at Utah, including 6-1 in bowl games. He did not have a losing season until the program left the Mountain West and joined the Pac-12. He turned it around following consecutive 5-7 seasons with a 9-4 year that culminated with a 45-10 bowl victory over Colorado State last week.
