Kyle Whittingham is entering the transfer portal.
Utah’s longtime head coach, who announced last week that he was stepping down from his role, says he will take calls from other programs and consider other coaching opportunities.
“I’m a free agent, in the transfer portal,” Whittingham said Thursday, his first time meeting with reporters since announcing his decision.
Whittingham didn’t rule out retirement as his next step, but he also didn’t close the door on the possibility that he could be standing on a different sideline next season.
“Who knows?” the coach said when asked directly if he was retiring. “We’ll see. Stepping down and [I’ll] step away and we evaluate things.”
Whittingham had one more year left on his contract when he decided to step away. So if he still wanted to coach, why not stay at Utah?
“I don’t want to overstay my welcome,” he said. “Somebody once told me that every year that goes by when you’re a coach, 10% of the fan base starts to hate you. So after 20 years ... it was a good run. It was a good run, and I’ll say it one more time. I didn’t want to be that hanger-on-er that people just got sick of. I just feel that I didn’t want to be that guy.”
Whittingham could have coaching opportunities next year as different jobs come open.
“If my phone rings, I will answer it,” Whittingham said. “And if I like who’s calling, we’ll see.”
Earlier in the day, the head coach said he would take some time to think about his next steps after Utah’s bowl game on New Year’s Eve.
“A lot of me wants to say, ‘Relax. Take some time. Catch your breath.’ But my competitive juices are there as well,” he said on ESPN 700. “Right now, we’re preparing for this bowl game and that’s our entire focus. But after that’s over with, I’ve got some thinking to do and just take a step back and take it all in and gain some perspective on the situation and decide from there.”
Whittingham said he feels the program he built at Utah is in a solid place as he steps away. His longtime defensive coordinator, Morgan Scalley, will take over after the bowl game.
But for now, like any player in the transfer portal, Whittingham will prioritize his own future in the next few weeks.
“I’m not sure what I’m going to do,” he said, “but when you’ve got coaching in your blood, it doesn’t just go away.”