Kyle Whittingham: Everything We Teach At Utah Is A Direct Result Of What I learned From My Dad
May 20, 2020, 11:35 AM
Head coach Kyle Whittingham of the Utah Utes looks on prior to a game against the Washington Huskies at Rice-Eccles Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images)
(Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Utah head football coach Kyle Whittingham gave all of the credit to his great defensive mind as a coach to his father Fred Whittingham.
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Kyle joined the Jim Rome Show on CBS Sports Network on Monday and talked about his relationship with his father in the coaching profession.
“First of all, it was a great opportunity,” Whittingham said. “That is something that I cherish. The opportunity to play for him, first of all, he is one of the best coaches that I have been around, probably the best defensive mind I have ever been around. Everything that I am as far as my defensive philosophies and what we teach here is really a direct result of what I learned from him.”
.@UtahCoachWhitt describes playing, and then working alongside his father Fred Whittingham. Fred's impact on Kyle as a coach, and on the #Utes program as a whole, is undeniable.#GoUtes
🎥: @CBSSportsNet pic.twitter.com/Dn9hrzGV8i— KSL Sports (@kslsports) May 18, 2020
Playing/Coaching With His Dad
Kyle was a star linebacker at BYU from 1978-81 where he earned WAC Defensive Player of the Year. During those four years as a player at BYU, Whittingham’s defensive coordinator was his father, Fred.
“He was always harder on me than everybody else which was just fine,” Whittingham mentioned. “It was a great experience. Then we got to coach together. Not only did he coach me in college but then we coached together on the staff here at Utah. Three years here where he was the defensive coordinator and I was his position coach. Then he went to the NFL to coach for his second stint and then I was the coordinator and he came back and was under me as a position coach. We spent a lot of time together in this profession.”
After Kyle graduated from BYU and started playing in the USFL, his father left BYU to be a special teams and tight end coach for the Los Angeles Rams. The following season, Fred was the linebackers coach from 1983-90. After serving as a scout for the Rams in 1991, he left the organization.
7 guys drafted and a bunch of signed free agents. This class was something special and I can’t wait to see what they do at the next level. #goutes pic.twitter.com/hnVcwyLiYh
— Kyle Whittingham (@UtahCoachWhitt) April 26, 2020
Kyle had stints in the USFL and the NFL with the Denver Gold, New Orleans Breakers and the Los Angeles Rams from 1983-87. After playing for the Breakers, Whittingham accepted a graduate assistant position with BYU under LaVell Edwards for two seasons before playing one year with the Rams. Kyle then joined Eastern Utah as their defensive coordinator for the 1987 season. From 1988-91, Kyle was the linebackers coach and special teams coordinator for Idaho State and the defensive coordinator from 1992-93.
What happened next would change the University of Utah forever and what it is today. Fred was hired by Utah to be the defensive coordinator where he served in that position from 1992-94. Before the 1994 season, Fred and Utah hired Kyle to be the defensive line coach.
In 1995, Fred left the Utes to be the linebackers coach for one season before being the defensive coordinator for the Oakland Raiders spending three years total with the franchise. During that time, Kyle was promoted to defensive coordinator for the Utes.
Father Coaching Under Him
After Fred’s time in Oakland was over, he returned to Utah to be the linebackers coach under his son Kyle as the DC.
“It was interesting but it was invaluable to my progress and development as a coach,” stated Whittingham. “It was something that I really enjoyed. It was a little bit awkward when he came back when I was the coordinator and he was a position coach because he was such an experienced coach and had so much knowledge but he handled it well. Had he not handled it the way that he did, it probably would’ve been a tough situation.”
Fred was the linebackers coach at Utah from 1998-00 before retiring from the profession. Kyle remained the defensive coordinator until 2004 when he was promoted to head coach.
Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports. You can download and listen to the podcast, here.
