Anonymous Big 12 coach calls it 'a relief' that Kyle Whittingham has left Utah

After more than two decades as Utah‘s head football coach, Kyle Whittingham reluctantly retired on Dec. 12, as part of a settlement agreement with the university. But as he would indicate days later, it was a short-lived retirement, lasting just two weeks before the 66-year-old signed a five-year deal to take the reigns at Michigan on Dec. 26.

Of course, to hear other coaches talk about it, Whittingham’s move to the Big Ten might as well have been a late Christmas present to the rest of the Big 12 conference. Whittingham went 177-88 overall across 21 seasons as Utah’s head coach, including 15-9 overall and 9-9 in Big 12 play in two seasons apart of the league.

“But yeah, it’s definitely a relief that [Whittingham] is out of the Big 12 because he’s a great football coach, and he’s an even better person,” an anonymous Big 12 coach told Athlon Sports.

Added another anonymous coach: “I’m really curious what [Utah] looks like without Kyle Whittingham.”

The above anonymous quotes were part of a section titled “Big 12 Coaches Talk Anonymously About Conference Foes for 2026” from its Athlon Sports’ 2026 College Football Preview magazine, which is on shelves now. Athlon Sports’ annual season preview magazine is generally must-see Summer reading for college football fans, due in large part to some of its compelling anonymous quotes.

The loss of Whittingham, as well as former offensive coordinator Jason Beck among a handful of ex-Utes assistants and players to join him in Ann Arbor, has created serious questions about what Utah will even look like offensively next season. Even with the return of talented dual-threat quarterback Devon Dampier.

“They cause a lot of mismatches because they’re plus-one in the run game with the quarterback and all the pullers and gap schemes that they did,” a third anonymous coach told Athlon Sports.

New Utah head coach Morgan Scalley, who served as the Utes’ defensive coordinator for the last 10 years, hired former Utah State coordinator Kevin McDaniel to take over the offense, and promoted linebackers coach Colton Swan to DC. Given that widespread coaching turnover, opposing Big 12 coaches are already scrutinizing Utah’s approach in 2026, especially defensively.

“It’s gonna be really interesting to see what their new philosophy is on offense and defense because they did struggle to stop the run last season,” another anonymous Big 12 coach said. “I think they were the worst in the Big 12 against the run last year. That’s not them. They’ve always been great up front, so that’ll be interesting.”