Kyle Whittingham Ranks In Top-10 Most Wins Of Active Football Coaches

SALT LAKE CITY – Another day, more proof that Utah football head coach Kyle Whittingham is a GOAT in the college football ranks.

Pro Football Focus College recently ranked active head coaches in win totals and Whittingham falls in the top-10 at No. 7. Needless to say, perusing the rest of the list, Whittingham is in mighty fine company with some of the biggest names in college football.

This begs what feels like an eternal question we grapple with every year: does Whittingham get enough respect for the job he has done with the Utes in his 19 years at the helm?

 

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The Top-10 Active Winningest Coaches In College Football

1. Nick Saban (285)
2. Mack Brown (268)
3. Kirk Ferentz (186)
4. Brian Kelly (176)
5. Dabo Sweeney (161)
6. Mike Gundy (156)
7. Kyle Whittingham (154)
8. Jimbo Fisher (122)
9. Troy Calhoun (121)
10. Jeff Tedford (118)

Giving Kyle Whittingham His Flowers

Let’s be frank, love him or hate him, Whittingham defies all logic when it comes to the current state of affairs in college football. There is no other coach that can really argue they are good at doing more with much less than the heaviest hitters in the sport.

If you’re as good as Whittingham is at winning, you usually move on from a job like Utah. (At least early on in his career before the Utes really found their footing.) Instead, Whittingham seems to have really taken to the idea of building something from very little, appreciating the challenge, and turning a team that probably has no business being a consistent Top-25 team into one.

 

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Under Whittingham, the Utes have become the “quiet assassin” of college football. Unassuming when you just casually glance at the roster and the star power Utah usually brings in, but very dangerous to underestimate on recruiting rankings alone.

Because of this fact, Whittingham and his staff have really brought to the forefront the importance of other metrics when determining the makeup of a good team.

Creativity, adaptability, projection, development, culture, technique, heart, etc. all matter as well, and are just a few reasons why Whittingham and Utah keep out-punching their weight while also morphing into one of the top teams in the country.

Michelle Bodkin is the Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of both the Crimson Corner Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and The Saturday Show (Saturday from 10 a.m.–12 p.m.) on The KSL Sports Zone. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram: @BodkinKSLsports

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