Kyle Whittingham is back as the head coach of the Utah football team, but it was looking like he was going to retire for a while. He made it very clear that he was weighing his options, but he ultimately decided that he wasn't ready to call it a career a yet. Whittingham has been the head coach of the Utes since 2005, and he has been working with the program since 1994. He has experienced a lot of success at Utah, and the past couple of years haven't met the standard. That is a big reason why he is back.

Injuries have plagued the Utah football team in recent seasons, and it has struggled because of it. Quarterback Cam Rising specifically wasn't able to catch a break from the injury bug, and the QB position is what hurt the Utes the most. Utah went 5-7 last year, and Kyle Whittingham couldn't go out after a season like that.

“I couldn’t step away on that note,” Whittingham said at Big 12 Media Days, according to a post from Pete Thamel. “It was too frustrating and too disappointing.”

Whittingham wants to go out a winner. It wasn't too long ago that Utah won back-to-back Pac-12 titles, and he wants to see the same success in the Big 12. Had the Utes seen that success last year, they might have a different head coach right now.

“Had we won the championship last year, I might not be sitting here,” Whittingham admitted.

If Utah is going to be a contender this year, the offense needs to be a lot better. The Utes went to the transfer portal to address their biggest needs as their top wide receivers, their starting QB and starting running back are all expected to be transfers this season. Whittingham has been coaching for a long time, and those are the ones who sometimes struggle to adjust to this new transfer portal era. Whittingham is showing that he isn't afraid of the change.

After a couple of disappointing seasons in a row, this is a big one for Kyle Whittingham and the Utah football team. The Utes emerged as consistent contenders in the final years of the Pac-12, and the opportunity is there in the Big 12 for them to be an elite program. There aren't any elite programs in the conference right now, but in the coming years, it will become more clear which teams will be consistent threats. If Utah wants to be one of them, it needs to start winning now.

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