December 12, 2025 • 19 mins
Catch “The Drive with Spence Checketts” from 2 pm to 6 pm weekdays on ESPN 700 & 92.1 FM. Produced by Porter Larsen. The latest on the Utah Jazz, Real Salt Lake, Utes, BYU + more sports storylines.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
All right, I said to porter during the break.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
You know it's favorite music better than I do, favorite
bands better.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Than I do.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
So the rest of the show today, every bump is
going to be one of Kyle's favorite bands or songs.
And right out of the gates, what do we got here?
Speaker 1 (00:13):
A little quiet riot? Okay?
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Really if you have like some eighties hair metal, okay,
you go a little classic rock too, But.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
That's that's Kyle's lane.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Okay, all right, I've heard this song in his office before. Well,
we are honoring Coach Wit. We are saying thank you
to Coach Wit. Literally, as I cracked this microphone this afternoon,
the email came out from Utah Athletics that after the
Bowl game, Kyle Whittingham will step down as the head
coach of the University of Utah.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
One of his.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Best success stories, certainly, and one of our favorite guests,
joins us right off the top, Eric Weddle, Happy Friday, sir.
I just want your initial reaction now that we know
that it is official that after the Bowl game, Coach
Wit is going to retire.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Man, my phone was getting blown up. I was in
a meeting with a couple of players, and then I
was meeting with a couple of coaches that were coming
through college coaches and so I didn't have my phone
on me and last last I heard or assumed was
Coach was coming back. And for this to come out
(01:16):
just I mean pull of gratitude, Honored to have played
under him, to call him family, to call him a
father figure, and so when I look up to and
admire and I was honestly like, I owe so much
of my success from Gosh, from my family to my
(01:41):
playing career is owed to Coach with And I said
this numerous times. So I'm forever indebted to him for
believing in me and going out on a limb when
when nobody else really wanted to offer me a scholarship,
and that includes Coach Meyer, for him to go to
bat for me and want me I again, I'm just
(02:05):
can't say enough great things about him, and for him
to announce this and as a school, it's pretty crazy.
But also I think it's it's the right time and
he's done so much for our university and hopefully he
could sit back and be proud of what he has
accomplished at the University of Utah.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Twenty one years at the Helm as the head coach
over thirty years as a coach up on the Hill,
of course, the all time winning this football coach in
Utah history contributed to two hundred and sixty two wins
in his tenure head coaching record of one seventy seven
and eighty eight. And he went from my perspective as
somebody who was just a student there in the nineties
when we were a basketball school, and then watching this
(02:47):
dramatic shift after Coach Mack built the foundation, Urban built
the mansion, and then coach who had built the estate.
From my perspective, we started the show and I just
gave like a very heartfelt thank you you to Wit,
thank you to his family, and gratitude from my perspective.
But you played for him, you know him. Tell us
about Kyle Whittingham the man, how he led young men.
(03:10):
We know about him as a coach because we've all
watched the team, but behind the scenes, as a father
figure as you call him, as a man.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
What makes Kyle Whittingham sick?
Speaker 3 (03:20):
Gosh? I think what stands out to me mostly is
his consistency and his relationships. How authentic and real I
think he is. And you know, he's just what you
see is what you get with him, right and good
batter and different. You always kind of know where you stand.
(03:41):
You're not You're not gonna not know what's going on
if you meet with them. He's he's very open, he's candid,
he's got personality, he's got hurtisma, he's funny, and you
know he got It's just it's been there for so
(04:02):
long and made such an impact on so many people
that it's hard to kind of put into words in
perspective on the change he's made in so many people's lives.
So it's really crazy, and as a coach now to
kind of think of coaching for that long and the
(04:22):
impact he's had is kind of overwhelming for me to
kind of grasp. And he did it, and he did
it at a high level and transitioned us into a
powerhouse that is a known commodity across the country.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
What do you think he was weighing because you you know,
you talked to these coaches, you talked to your former teammates,
you're connected to the program, and there were a lot
of people that thought, you know, it was going to
happen a year ago, and then we all know what
happened with the injuries, and even Kyle himself after the
Kansas game admitted that he was close to stepping down
last year but didn't want to go out like that.
Knowing him the way that you do, what do you
(04:57):
think he was weighing as a protein to his decision
making process this time around that ultimately led him to
believe that this was the right time.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
Gosh, I don't, you know, I don't, I don't really know.
He's very uh, you know, anytime we have our interaction,
he's always up beating and he's optimistic, but he's also,
you know, very honest with what's going on in landscape
and how to navigate it. And I just know, for
me and my experience with you know, when I retired,
(05:30):
you just know, and only he will be able to
best describe how he knew and if this is the
right time or not, and no looking back, like I
just knew when my time was up, I knew it right.
And I think for him, he just kind of get
a sense, you get this feeling like this is the time?
Is it is it worth the time and the sacrifice?
(05:53):
And are you ready for a new challenge? Are you
ready for the next step. Are you ready? You know,
there's so many things that go into it, and I
just think like for him to come to this moment
and the realization that it's time, then he knows and
however that came about, he would best understand that and
be able to articulate that to everyone else. But yeah,
(06:17):
I don't know. I just assume that he thinks the
program is in the right direction with the new leadership,
and he's done what he can and the most that
he can with and he's ready to sit back and
enjoy is the fruits of.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
His labor, which he's certainly earned.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
And I told a little anecdote to start the show
that last year before an interview I did with him,
it was a pre tape because they had a practice
in the afternoon, which is when my show is, and
so before he went live, he said, Hey, how's your
dad doing?
Speaker 1 (06:49):
And I said he's doing great, And he said, well,
what is he up to?
Speaker 2 (06:51):
I said, well, at this point, he has a couple
of projects going on, but he's spending a lot of
time with the grandkids, my nieces and nephew and said,
there's twenty one of them, and he and my mom
fly all around the country and that's pretty much what
they do. And he said to me, Weddy said, I
can't wait to do that soon. I think a lot
of players and coaches give you lip service about yeah,
(07:13):
I want to spend more time with my family, and
then they're home for a week and then they go crazy.
What insight can you give us on Kyle Whittingham, the dad,
the husband, and the grandfather.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
Well, you're like one hundred percent right, Like he is
so smart and so intuitive of how you're doing and
your family and still like I saw him a few
weeks ago when we came up for the Cincinnati game.
We're just hanging out in the defense staff room, and
(07:43):
he asked how my mom and dad are doing and
named them by their names, and my sister and Kathleen.
They're like not many people just have a good feel
and understanding about the person and really remember, Like I'm
terrible with names and I barely remember my kid's birthdays,
let alone people I've come across over the last twenty
(08:05):
five years.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
And it's just it just shows his just the unique
ability to make people smile and just feel worse, Like
I feel like I think that was a strong, a
strong trade of his is making people feel their worth
just about themselves, right, and importance.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
And so you know, he always he always talked about
his family, his wife, his mom who's still at the
games right coming around, and just the impact his dad
had on him and his life and his coaching, and
obviously his kids and having them around in the building
and all his family, Like gosh, he's just had such
(08:48):
an impact and like look at what he's done just
from his brothers and family being a part of the program,
Like it's we all just marveling and wish that like
that's that's like the standard, right, That's what you wish
to be able to do for your family and the
people that you can impact.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
So, you were a fourteen year NFL guy, you want
a Super Bowl, You were a team captain here, you
had a long NFL career. Do you like throughout your
throughout the course of your NFL days when you played
for a couple of different teams and you traveled around
and you know, we all watched Sunday Night football when
it's like okay, they're introducing the team and you're Eric
Weddle Safety, University of Utah. Do you think people around
(09:30):
the country whether it's college or pro football, have an
accurate idea.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Of just what kind of coach in person that Wit is.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Yes, I think I think they do, because no matter what,
you know what you're gonna get when you play a
University Utah football team, and that is a direct reflection
of the head coach and a lot of teams and
organizations out there are kind of searching right for that.
Who are you? What are you about? What to your standard?
(10:01):
What are you going to our show out there on
the football field. Then with us and Coach Wit over
the last twenty one years, you knew what that was,
and that was a tough mentally tough, disciplined, physical unit
that's gonna hit you in the mouth, gonna play team
football team, offense, defense, best teams, and you're never gonna
(10:25):
have an easy game when you played us. And so
I think that's that is who Utah football was, That's
who Utah football is and will always be. And it's
because of Coach Win and in the standard and the
expectation of what we are and what we have always been.
And you know it's not meant for everybody, right, you know,
(10:47):
you come to our team and culture and I think
you have to understand that there's a specific way to
play this game and a specific way to represent ourselves
on off the field. And it's not for every but
I means do come here and stick it out and
be a part of this program. That you'll be a
part of this family for the rest of the time.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Feels like one of the words that most everybody would use,
whether it's somebody like you who played for him, somebody
like me who's covered him, or just somebody from the
outside looking in, is intensity.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
Right.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
It feels like that would kind of be one of
the and and there are several superlatives, There are several
adjectives that we could use. But when it comes to
just the intensity of the way he coached you guys
during the week and was able to get you guys
ready to play on game day, what was that experience?
Speaker 3 (11:37):
Like, Yeah, I mean there. I think as the years
have gone on, he's he's pulled back the moments where
he you know, you could see it in his eyes.
You see glimpses of halftime speeches in the locker room
where it has to come out, and the intensity and
(11:58):
you know, I had him as a coach, right, and
that he was there back in his early days, and
and uh, they're just moment. When you become a head coach,
you have to pick your moments and it's much more
managing personalities and making the team go in the right
direction and and and the vision and culture. But there
(12:20):
are times where you have to put your foot down
and everyone needs to understand and know like the time
is now. And I just remember those vividly, like halftime
or pregame, and in the moment, like he gets in
your face and those eyes they can pierce through you
because it means so much, and the intent and the intensity,
(12:40):
like you said, so, uh, it's always been in there.
I think as the years go on, it's it's very
few that people get to see, but everyone knows when
you see it, you better sit right up, shoulders back
and ready to rock when you see it.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
So you referenced something earlier you wed where you said
something along the lines of it kind of does feel
like the right time. How much of that opinion of
yours is steeped in the gentleman who's about to slide
over a seat because now Morgan Scally, the show is yours, right, Yeah, I.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
Mean, there's no better guy to take over the program
and to continue the success and the culture and the standard,
but also maybe improve it, maybe put your own flair
on it, put your personality. You know, there's said I've
said this probably on your show in over the years.
(13:34):
You're not going to hire a guy from the outside
to run you tough football. It's just not never gonna happen.
It's got to be someone from within who has experienced
and understands our culture, because the alumni would go crazy, right,
It's just a special place, a unique place that we
(13:55):
are very dear to and love. And he's I'm excited
for him. I'm happy for him. He's he's been I
don't like to say groomed, but he's been prepared for
this moment since he became a coach on staff, you know,
almost twenty years ago. So it's meant for him. He's
(14:17):
ready for the challenge and he's I'm sure he's ready
to take it to the next the new heights that
we all expect.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
Apologize for catching you off guard here, but I personally
am caught off guard right now. So Stuart Mandel from
the Athletic who is a very well plugged in football
writer and knows whit knows the program very well, he
is reporting. He says, quote, Whittingham is not retiring. He
could seek other coaching opportunities. A source tells The Athletic,
(14:47):
can you even imagine that? Can you even picture that
in your mind? Kyle Whittingham coaching another football team?
Speaker 3 (14:56):
No? I mean, but maybe I mean listen, I mean
I love coach with and anytime we're together, it's as
if we had never left. But it's not like I
we talk like weekly or monthly. It's so I don't
really know what his ultimate desires are, if he's still
has challenged, if did he get forced, I don't really
(15:18):
know at this point. I all I know is what
was announced, just like everybody else. And shoot, I mean
it's just like playing. If you still have a desire
to play and you're still wanted, then go do it.
And the same thing with coaching. Like well, however he
came to the decision. If he still has a desire
to coach and someone wants to allow him to coach
(15:40):
and lead a program, then shoot, go do it. I'm
not going to sit here and tell him not to.
And if he did, then I would go support his
program just as much as I would as if he
was at you.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Tak Yeah, well, I hate to be irresponsible, but there's
a school in ann Arbor that needs a head coach
right now.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
Yeah, yeah, I mean that's that's that's for Michigan to
figure out. I have no ties. I mean, I know
the DC there wink with my old coach, so uh.
But yeah, there's there's a lot of names going around
in this, that and the other. But I don't I
(16:20):
just know he meant a lot to me, still does,
and his family and just super grateful to have been
a player under him and to call.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Him family before I say you loose, and I appreciate
your time right off the top here, I want to
go back to Morgan a little bit and you reference,
you know, the right guy at the right time. Let's
get into obviously a good friend of yours and what
you anticipate as far as him continuing on what Kyle
has built and obviously Morgan cut his teeth under Kyle
(16:51):
for basically two decades here, and then how much of
this new generation of Utah football will he put his
own stamp on, Like, can you kind of explain that
dynamic a little bit?
Speaker 1 (17:01):
For us before it set you loose?
Speaker 3 (17:05):
Yeah, Like are you are you asking? Like what? How
I think the program is gonna be different or or.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
Similar or both? Right, just like a combination.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
Yeah, I think I think the landscape of college football
is changing every six months, right, And so I do
think you're it's gonna be within the program, I think, uh,
you know, it's obviously gonna be different because this is
Morgan's program now. So, uh, there are gonna be things
that he is gonna hold on to that Coach Witt
(17:38):
has done, and there's gonna be things that they are
gonna change and could be for the better, it could
be for not Nobody's gonna know until we see what
it looks like five years from now. Do we do
have a national championship? Do we have multiple Big twelve
championships or wherever we're playing at? Like, nobody's gonna know that.
But I do know that there are gonna be ideas
and visions and uh that he's gonna want to implement
(18:02):
because it's his program now. So obviously he's gonna he's
gonna lean on people that he trusts moving forward, and
we all want to understand that as a head coach,
there are things that you're gonna have to do and
decide on and we're all gonna have to follow and
follow suit. So that's what good coaches and rely on
(18:23):
their support staff. And when you make a decision, you
don't look back. You don't live with regrets. Like with me,
I'm always moving forward. I live, learn and move forward.
So I expect that with coach Scally and and make
our program better than what it is right now. I mean,
that's all you can hope for. You don't want to
be status quo, right so you can only hope that
(18:46):
we make he makes the program better than what it was.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
E WEG. You're the man.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Appreciate the time. Certainly a notable historic day. We'll keep
talking about it. You'd be well and be safe. Okay,
you got it, buddy, Eric Weddle, one of the best
you ever do. Do it here at the University of Utah,
super Bowl champ, six time Pro bowler probably will be
headed to Canton at some point as an NFL Hall
of Famer.
All right, I said to porter during the break.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
You know it's favorite music better than I do, favorite
bands better.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Than I do.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
So the rest of the show today, every bump is
going to be one of Kyle's favorite bands or songs.
And right out of the gates, what do we got here?
Speaker 1 (00:13):
A little quiet riot? Okay?
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Really if you have like some eighties hair metal, okay,
you go a little classic rock too, But.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
That's that's Kyle's lane.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Okay, all right, I've heard this song in his office before. Well,
we are honoring Coach Wit. We are saying thank you
to Coach Wit. Literally, as I cracked this microphone this afternoon,
the email came out from Utah Athletics that after the
Bowl game, Kyle Whittingham will step down as the head
coach of the University of Utah.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
One of his.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Best success stories, certainly, and one of our favorite guests,
joins us right off the top, Eric Weddle, Happy Friday, sir.
I just want your initial reaction now that we know
that it is official that after the Bowl game, Coach
Wit is going to retire.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Man, my phone was getting blown up. I was in
a meeting with a couple of players, and then I
was meeting with a couple of coaches that were coming
through college coaches and so I didn't have my phone
on me and last last I heard or assumed was
Coach was coming back. And for this to come out
(01:16):
just I mean pull of gratitude, Honored to have played
under him, to call him family, to call him a
father figure, and so when I look up to and
admire and I was honestly like, I owe so much
of my success from Gosh, from my family to my
(01:41):
playing career is owed to Coach with And I said
this numerous times. So I'm forever indebted to him for
believing in me and going out on a limb when
when nobody else really wanted to offer me a scholarship,
and that includes Coach Meyer, for him to go to
bat for me and want me I again, I'm just
(02:05):
can't say enough great things about him, and for him
to announce this and as a school, it's pretty crazy.
But also I think it's it's the right time and
he's done so much for our university and hopefully he
could sit back and be proud of what he has
accomplished at the University of Utah.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Twenty one years at the Helm as the head coach
over thirty years as a coach up on the Hill,
of course, the all time winning this football coach in
Utah history contributed to two hundred and sixty two wins
in his tenure head coaching record of one seventy seven
and eighty eight. And he went from my perspective as
somebody who was just a student there in the nineties
when we were a basketball school, and then watching this
(02:47):
dramatic shift after Coach Mack built the foundation, Urban built
the mansion, and then coach who had built the estate.
From my perspective, we started the show and I just
gave like a very heartfelt thank you you to Wit,
thank you to his family, and gratitude from my perspective.
But you played for him, you know him. Tell us
about Kyle Whittingham the man, how he led young men.
(03:10):
We know about him as a coach because we've all
watched the team, but behind the scenes, as a father
figure as you call him, as a man.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
What makes Kyle Whittingham sick?
Speaker 3 (03:20):
Gosh? I think what stands out to me mostly is
his consistency and his relationships. How authentic and real I
think he is. And you know, he's just what you
see is what you get with him, right and good
batter and different. You always kind of know where you stand.
(03:41):
You're not You're not gonna not know what's going on
if you meet with them. He's he's very open, he's candid,
he's got personality, he's got hurtisma, he's funny, and you
know he got It's just it's been there for so
(04:02):
long and made such an impact on so many people
that it's hard to kind of put into words in
perspective on the change he's made in so many people's lives.
So it's really crazy, and as a coach now to
kind of think of coaching for that long and the
(04:22):
impact he's had is kind of overwhelming for me to
kind of grasp. And he did it, and he did
it at a high level and transitioned us into a
powerhouse that is a known commodity across the country.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
What do you think he was weighing because you you know,
you talked to these coaches, you talked to your former teammates,
you're connected to the program, and there were a lot
of people that thought, you know, it was going to
happen a year ago, and then we all know what
happened with the injuries, and even Kyle himself after the
Kansas game admitted that he was close to stepping down
last year but didn't want to go out like that.
Knowing him the way that you do, what do you
(04:57):
think he was weighing as a protein to his decision
making process this time around that ultimately led him to
believe that this was the right time.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
Gosh, I don't, you know, I don't, I don't really know.
He's very uh, you know, anytime we have our interaction,
he's always up beating and he's optimistic, but he's also,
you know, very honest with what's going on in landscape
and how to navigate it. And I just know, for
me and my experience with you know, when I retired,
(05:30):
you just know, and only he will be able to
best describe how he knew and if this is the
right time or not, and no looking back, like I
just knew when my time was up, I knew it right.
And I think for him, he just kind of get
a sense, you get this feeling like this is the time?
Is it is it worth the time and the sacrifice?
(05:53):
And are you ready for a new challenge? Are you
ready for the next step. Are you ready? You know,
there's so many things that go into it, and I
just think like for him to come to this moment
and the realization that it's time, then he knows and
however that came about, he would best understand that and
be able to articulate that to everyone else. But yeah,
(06:17):
I don't know. I just assume that he thinks the
program is in the right direction with the new leadership,
and he's done what he can and the most that
he can with and he's ready to sit back and
enjoy is the fruits of.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
His labor, which he's certainly earned.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
And I told a little anecdote to start the show
that last year before an interview I did with him,
it was a pre tape because they had a practice
in the afternoon, which is when my show is, and
so before he went live, he said, Hey, how's your
dad doing?
Speaker 1 (06:49):
And I said he's doing great, And he said, well,
what is he up to?
Speaker 2 (06:51):
I said, well, at this point, he has a couple
of projects going on, but he's spending a lot of
time with the grandkids, my nieces and nephew and said,
there's twenty one of them, and he and my mom
fly all around the country and that's pretty much what
they do. And he said to me, Weddy said, I
can't wait to do that soon. I think a lot
of players and coaches give you lip service about yeah,
(07:13):
I want to spend more time with my family, and
then they're home for a week and then they go crazy.
What insight can you give us on Kyle Whittingham, the dad,
the husband, and the grandfather.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
Well, you're like one hundred percent right, Like he is
so smart and so intuitive of how you're doing and
your family and still like I saw him a few
weeks ago when we came up for the Cincinnati game.
We're just hanging out in the defense staff room, and
(07:43):
he asked how my mom and dad are doing and
named them by their names, and my sister and Kathleen.
They're like not many people just have a good feel
and understanding about the person and really remember, Like I'm
terrible with names and I barely remember my kid's birthdays,
let alone people I've come across over the last twenty
(08:05):
five years.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
And it's just it just shows his just the unique
ability to make people smile and just feel worse, Like
I feel like I think that was a strong, a
strong trade of his is making people feel their worth
just about themselves, right, and importance.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
And so you know, he always he always talked about
his family, his wife, his mom who's still at the
games right coming around, and just the impact his dad
had on him and his life and his coaching, and
obviously his kids and having them around in the building
and all his family, Like gosh, he's just had such
(08:48):
an impact and like look at what he's done just
from his brothers and family being a part of the program,
Like it's we all just marveling and wish that like
that's that's like the standard, right, That's what you wish
to be able to do for your family and the
people that you can impact.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
So, you were a fourteen year NFL guy, you want
a Super Bowl, You were a team captain here, you
had a long NFL career. Do you like throughout your
throughout the course of your NFL days when you played
for a couple of different teams and you traveled around
and you know, we all watched Sunday Night football when
it's like okay, they're introducing the team and you're Eric
Weddle Safety, University of Utah. Do you think people around
(09:30):
the country whether it's college or pro football, have an
accurate idea.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Of just what kind of coach in person that Wit is.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Yes, I think I think they do, because no matter what,
you know what you're gonna get when you play a
University Utah football team, and that is a direct reflection
of the head coach and a lot of teams and
organizations out there are kind of searching right for that.
Who are you? What are you about? What to your standard?
(10:01):
What are you going to our show out there on
the football field. Then with us and Coach Wit over
the last twenty one years, you knew what that was,
and that was a tough mentally tough, disciplined, physical unit
that's gonna hit you in the mouth, gonna play team
football team, offense, defense, best teams, and you're never gonna
(10:25):
have an easy game when you played us. And so
I think that's that is who Utah football was, That's
who Utah football is and will always be. And it's
because of Coach Win and in the standard and the
expectation of what we are and what we have always been.
And you know it's not meant for everybody, right, you know,
(10:47):
you come to our team and culture and I think
you have to understand that there's a specific way to
play this game and a specific way to represent ourselves
on off the field. And it's not for every but
I means do come here and stick it out and
be a part of this program. That you'll be a
part of this family for the rest of the time.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Feels like one of the words that most everybody would use,
whether it's somebody like you who played for him, somebody
like me who's covered him, or just somebody from the
outside looking in, is intensity.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
Right.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
It feels like that would kind of be one of
the and and there are several superlatives, There are several
adjectives that we could use. But when it comes to
just the intensity of the way he coached you guys
during the week and was able to get you guys
ready to play on game day, what was that experience?
Speaker 3 (11:37):
Like, Yeah, I mean there. I think as the years
have gone on, he's he's pulled back the moments where
he you know, you could see it in his eyes.
You see glimpses of halftime speeches in the locker room
where it has to come out, and the intensity and
(11:58):
you know, I had him as a coach, right, and
that he was there back in his early days, and
and uh, they're just moment. When you become a head coach,
you have to pick your moments and it's much more
managing personalities and making the team go in the right
direction and and and the vision and culture. But there
(12:20):
are times where you have to put your foot down
and everyone needs to understand and know like the time
is now. And I just remember those vividly, like halftime
or pregame, and in the moment, like he gets in
your face and those eyes they can pierce through you
because it means so much, and the intent and the intensity,
(12:40):
like you said, so, uh, it's always been in there.
I think as the years go on, it's it's very
few that people get to see, but everyone knows when
you see it, you better sit right up, shoulders back
and ready to rock when you see it.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
So you referenced something earlier you wed where you said
something along the lines of it kind of does feel
like the right time. How much of that opinion of
yours is steeped in the gentleman who's about to slide
over a seat because now Morgan Scally, the show is yours, right, Yeah, I.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
Mean, there's no better guy to take over the program
and to continue the success and the culture and the standard,
but also maybe improve it, maybe put your own flair
on it, put your personality. You know, there's said I've
said this probably on your show in over the years.
(13:34):
You're not going to hire a guy from the outside
to run you tough football. It's just not never gonna happen.
It's got to be someone from within who has experienced
and understands our culture, because the alumni would go crazy, right,
It's just a special place, a unique place that we
(13:55):
are very dear to and love. And he's I'm excited
for him. I'm happy for him. He's he's been I
don't like to say groomed, but he's been prepared for
this moment since he became a coach on staff, you know,
almost twenty years ago. So it's meant for him. He's
(14:17):
ready for the challenge and he's I'm sure he's ready
to take it to the next the new heights that
we all expect.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
Apologize for catching you off guard here, but I personally
am caught off guard right now. So Stuart Mandel from
the Athletic who is a very well plugged in football
writer and knows whit knows the program very well, he
is reporting. He says, quote, Whittingham is not retiring. He
could seek other coaching opportunities. A source tells The Athletic,
(14:47):
can you even imagine that? Can you even picture that
in your mind? Kyle Whittingham coaching another football team?
Speaker 3 (14:56):
No? I mean, but maybe I mean listen, I mean
I love coach with and anytime we're together, it's as
if we had never left. But it's not like I
we talk like weekly or monthly. It's so I don't
really know what his ultimate desires are, if he's still
has challenged, if did he get forced, I don't really
(15:18):
know at this point. I all I know is what
was announced, just like everybody else. And shoot, I mean
it's just like playing. If you still have a desire
to play and you're still wanted, then go do it.
And the same thing with coaching. Like well, however he
came to the decision. If he still has a desire
to coach and someone wants to allow him to coach
(15:40):
and lead a program, then shoot, go do it. I'm
not going to sit here and tell him not to.
And if he did, then I would go support his
program just as much as I would as if he
was at you.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Tak Yeah, well, I hate to be irresponsible, but there's
a school in ann Arbor that needs a head coach
right now.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
Yeah, yeah, I mean that's that's that's for Michigan to
figure out. I have no ties. I mean, I know
the DC there wink with my old coach, so uh.
But yeah, there's there's a lot of names going around
in this, that and the other. But I don't I
(16:20):
just know he meant a lot to me, still does,
and his family and just super grateful to have been
a player under him and to call.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Him family before I say you loose, and I appreciate
your time right off the top here, I want to
go back to Morgan a little bit and you reference,
you know, the right guy at the right time. Let's
get into obviously a good friend of yours and what
you anticipate as far as him continuing on what Kyle
has built and obviously Morgan cut his teeth under Kyle
(16:51):
for basically two decades here, and then how much of
this new generation of Utah football will he put his
own stamp on, Like, can you kind of explain that
dynamic a little bit?
Speaker 1 (17:01):
For us before it set you loose?
Speaker 3 (17:05):
Yeah, Like are you are you asking? Like what? How
I think the program is gonna be different or or.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
Similar or both? Right, just like a combination.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
Yeah, I think I think the landscape of college football
is changing every six months, right, And so I do
think you're it's gonna be within the program, I think, uh,
you know, it's obviously gonna be different because this is
Morgan's program now. So, uh, there are gonna be things
that he is gonna hold on to that Coach Witt
(17:38):
has done, and there's gonna be things that they are
gonna change and could be for the better, it could
be for not Nobody's gonna know until we see what
it looks like five years from now. Do we do
have a national championship? Do we have multiple Big twelve
championships or wherever we're playing at? Like, nobody's gonna know that.
But I do know that there are gonna be ideas
and visions and uh that he's gonna want to implement
(18:02):
because it's his program now. So obviously he's gonna he's
gonna lean on people that he trusts moving forward, and
we all want to understand that as a head coach,
there are things that you're gonna have to do and
decide on and we're all gonna have to follow and
follow suit. So that's what good coaches and rely on
(18:23):
their support staff. And when you make a decision, you
don't look back. You don't live with regrets. Like with me,
I'm always moving forward. I live, learn and move forward.
So I expect that with coach Scally and and make
our program better than what it is right now. I mean,
that's all you can hope for. You don't want to
be status quo, right so you can only hope that
(18:46):
we make he makes the program better than what it was.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
E WEG. You're the man.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Appreciate the time. Certainly a notable historic day. We'll keep
talking about it. You'd be well and be safe. Okay,
you got it, buddy, Eric Weddle, one of the best
you ever do. Do it here at the University of Utah,
super Bowl champ, six time Pro bowler probably will be
headed to Canton at some point as an NFL Hall
of Famer.
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