Kyle Whittingham returns to coach Utah for his 21st season

Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham announced Sunday that he will return in 2025 for his 21st season as the program’s head coach.

“I’m back,” Whittingham said in a statement posted to Utah Football’s X account, echoing Michael Jordan’s announcement of his return to the NBA in 1995.

Great value

We look forward to 2025‼️#GoUtes | @UtahCoachWhitt pic.twitter.com/jq9BnjypgO

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) December 8, 2024

Whittingham, 65, said two weeks ago he wasn’t sure if he would choose to return for another year as the Utes’ head coach.

“My decision will be made based on what is best for the program, not what is best for me,” Whittingham said at the time. “So it will entirely depend on how I think this program can best be used in the future.”

In July of this year, the program announced that defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley would be Whittingham’s successor following his retirement.

“(I’ll) sit down and evaluate everything,” Whittingham said. “I can tell you right now that Coach Scalley will be involved in future decisions because it is only right that he does because he is the coach in waiting and when that time comes we need to make sure he has influence on important decisions.” In that regard, it will be a team effort in the future in terms of hiring and recruiting and things like that.”

The Utes were considered preseason favorites to win the Big 12 in their first year as members, but after losing Cam Rising to injury for the second straight year this year, they suffered a seven-game losing streak after a 4-0 start had to streak. The 5-7 result was Whittingham’s first defeat of the season in 2024 since 2013.

Whittingham was hired by Utah in 2004 and has since compiled a 167-86 record as a head coach. He is the second-longest serving coach in the FBS, behind only Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz.