Sharrieff Shah knows more than most about Kyle Whittingham’s persuasive nature.

After all, he spent 14 seasons coaching under Whittingham at Utah.

“I would not be coaching had it not been for Coach Whitt. I wouldn’t be here, so I will always love Coach Whitt — he has a very special place in my heart,” Shah said Wednesday.

But even as several former Utah assistants left Salt Lake City for Michigan, Shah chose to stay put.

“When he initially left, it was something that I had to consider. I knew where I wanted to be. I know I wanted to be with Coach Scalley, but Coach [Whittingham] has a way of being very persuasive.”

And when Whittingham came calling, Shah admitted it wasn’t an easy offer to turn down.

He said what ultimately kept him in Salt Lake City was a conversation with his wife, Jen Shah, and his relationship with new Utah head coach Morgan Scalley.

“I talked to my wife, and just going through the things that I still wanted to be able to achieve here, it made sense to stay,” he said. “It was what was in my heart to be with Coach Scalley.”

Shah, a longtime Ute defensive assistant, was elevated to associate head coach by Scalley.

“My home was here,” Shah said. “It was with the guy that I was able to cut my teeth with on the defensive side of the ball. It comes with the thought and expectation that we want to win in a big way.”

The biggest of ways.

Shah believes the Utes can do something they’ve never done before: reach the College Football Playoff — and maybe even win the whole thing.

He thinks if a program like Indiana can do that, why not Utah?

“We want to do what Indiana showed everybody that you can do,” Shah said. “If you can assemble the right young men, have the right culture, the right mindset, you can do that. That’s not a one-off. I think that’s going to become more apparent and more commonplace than people think, especially with what’s happening in college football.”

And that belief proved to be more persuasive than even his former boss’s pitch.