Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham before a game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Where does Utah's Kyle Whittingham rank among CFB head coaches heading into 2025?

Originally posted on Utah Utes on SI | By Cole Forsman | Last updated May 27, 2025 5:12 PM ET

As the countdown to the upcoming college football season wages on, CBS Sports unveiled its annual ranking of every power conference head coach in the country.

After finishing below .500 for the first time in a decade, Utah's Kyle Whittingham was ranked No. 11 by CBS' panel of voters. The Utes' 5-7 finish to the 2024 campaign certainly didn't meet the expectations many analysts had for them in the preseason, and injuries to Cam Rising certainly didn't help their cause, either.

Utah's success under Whittingham over the past two decades is arguably top-10 worthy, though the Utes' recent struggles caused quite a discrepancy in how he was ranked by CBS' panel. One member had Whittingham as high as No. 9 on their respective list, while another had him as low as No. 37.

"While I'm sure every voter on our panel would appreciate a bit more honesty from Whittingham when it comes to the injury status of his quarterback, we'll forgive him for it. He's still one of the most consistent coaches in the country, even if he's coming off a tough season," wrote CBS Sports writer Tom Fornelli. "It was Utah's first losing season since 2013, and the Utes responded to that season by going 28-11 over the following three. They'll be back in the Big 12 hunt this year."

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.

Georgia's Kirby Smart came in at No. 1 on CBS' power ranking, followed by Ohio State's Ryan Day, Clemson's Dabo Swinney, Texas' Steve Sarkisian and Oregon's Dan Lanning in the top five.