30 best college football coaching hires this century

23. Kyle Whittingham – Utah

Filling big shoes is always a hard thing to do, and we’ve seen it go well and we’ve seen it go terribly wrong. Urban Meyer immediately came in and turned a middling Utah team into a powerhouse overnight. In his two seasons with the Utes, he went 22-2. Then he left. Some people might forget the Utah part of Meyer’s journey, but it was important in getting him where he is today. So, Utah had to make the right choice when they hired the next coach. For one, they needed someone to at least keep up the momentum. On the other hand, they didn’t want someone who was going to bolt in two years like Meyer.

Enter Kyle Whittingham. He turned down his alma matter BYU, something that never happens in college football, to take over the job at Utah. While he didn’t have the same success right away, Whittingham was able to bring sustained success after Meyer left. Then, in 2008, he brought another special season to Salt Lake City.

It was the first time in program history they won 13 games. It started with a huge win on national television over the Michigan Wolverines. They beat No. 11 TCU late in the season, and the quintessential win came in the bowl game. They faced Nick Saban and his Alabama Crimson Tide, then ranked fourth in the nation. Not only did they beat the usual powerhouse, but they also took them to the woodshed. They went out to a 21-0 first-quarter lead, and they ended up winning 31-17.

Whittingham is still in Utah 17 seasons later. He’s no doubt turned down bigger jobs for probably bigger money because of what he’s building as a Pac 12 winner. Whittingham is going to be one of the top coaches in this country as long as he decides to stay in college.