Heading into the 2024 season there are nothing but lofty expectations for this Utah team that returns seventh-year signal caller Cam Rising and a handful of other key contributors.
The Utes have bolstered the roster in the transfer portal, have an elite rushing attack, return star tight end Brant Kuithe, and have one of the easiest schedules in college football. All of this is expected to lead to a Big 12 title, and a College Football Playoff appearance. However, there may be another form of motivation for this team, which is that it could be head coach Kyle Whittingham's final season.
In a recent ESPN article, Adam Rittenberg was discussing coaches in college football in 2024 who were under pressure. He had three categories, which were hot seat coaches that are coaching for their job, coaches to keep an eye on who could find themselves on the hot seat, and coaches on retirement watch.
Whittingham was joined by North Carolina's Mack Brown and Iowa's Kirk Ferentz, with Rittenberg citing the fact that Whittingham has publicly said he doesn't plan to coach past 65.
"Whittingham has stated that he doesn't expect to be coaching past his 65th birthday, which he will celebrate Nov. 21. He already has cemented himself as the most significant coach in Utah history, winning two Pac-12 titles and a Mountain West title, and recording nine AP Top 25 finishes. Whittingham will lead Utah into the Big 12 this fall and would love to reach the CFP in his career. But he doesn't have anything left to prove and could see this season as a natural endpoint, especially with expected successor Morgan Scalley in place."
The Utes are widely expected to run the Big 12 in year one which would get them into the College Football Playoff with an automatic bid. As for Whittingham, who is one of the older coaches in college football, he hasn't shown any signs of slowing down.
This will certainly be something to look out for, as we have seen three coaches recently leave college football to get away from the transfer portal and NIL. Whittingham may stay true to his word about coaching past 65, and the landscape of college football may make the decision easier.
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