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Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham looks on against the TCU Horned Frogs during the second quarter at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Utah's Kyle Whittingham cites disappointing 2024 season as reason for returning in 2025: 'I couldn't step away'

Originally posted on Utah Utes on SI | By Cole Forsman | Last updated Jul 9, 2025 12:57 PM ET

Kyle Whittingham has fielded questions regarding his future as the head coach of the Utah football program since his Utes wrapped up the 2024 campaign with a win over UCF this past December.

Utah trudged its way to a 5-7 record, the team's first time finishing below .500 in a decade, as injuries to the quarterback position and subsequent inconsistencies on the offensive side of the ball plagued what many thought was going to be a big year for the Utes in their first season as a Big 12 member.

Had things played out differently, though, Whittingham might not have returned as Utah's head coach for the 2025 season.

"I couldn't step away on that note," Whittingham said to ESPN's Pete Thamel during Big 12 media days in Dallas. "It was too frustrating and too disappointing. Had we won the championship last year, I might not be sitting here."

Utah's Kyle Whittingham on his decision to return this season. "I couldn’t step away on that note. It was too frustrating and too disappointing." He added: "Had we won the championship last year, I might not be sitting here."
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) July 9, 2025

Whittingham, whose first full season as Utah's head coach came in 2005, declined to comment about his future following the Utes' 28-14 win over the Knights in the 2024 regular season finale. The media had picked Utah to win the Big 12 in the league's preseason poll, which was released earlier that summer. The Utes checked in at No. 12 in the preseason Associated Press poll and started 3-0 before losing seven of their next eight contests to end the season.

The Utes expect to course correct in 2025 behind a stout offensive line, headlined by two potential NFL first-round draft picks, protecting their new starting quarterback, Devon Dampier. The New Mexico transfer was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year after leading the Mountain West with 3,934 total yards of offense, including 2,768 passing yards — the league's second-highest total — with the Lobos last season.

Whittingham and Utah's head-coach-in-waiting, current defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley, also brought in Dampier's offensive coordinator from New Mexico, Jason Beck, to revamp the Utes' offense.

Offensive linemen Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu received spots on the All-Big 12 preseason team, the league announced Monday. Fano and Lomu lead an offensive line that returns all five starters from last season's group.

Over the past 20 seasons at the helm of the Utes — tied with Mike Gundy as the second-longest tenured head coach in the FBS — Whittingham accumulated a career record of 167-86 (66% win percentage), including 11-6 (64.7%) in bowl games. When including his 11 seasons with the program as an assistant coach, Whittingham has contributed to more victories (252) than any coach in program history.

Utah finished with a winning record in 17 of Whittingham's first 20 years as head coach, including a run of 10 straight from 2014-23. He won nine or more games seven times between 2014 and 2022, though the Utes only played five games during the shortened 2020 campaign. Whittingham guided the program to a conference or division title in each of its last four seasons as a member of the Pac-12.