Fanblogs.com: Kyle Whittingham wins the Paul "Bear" Bryant College Coach of the Year Award
U.of S.C.1978
· 10 months ago
The man definitely deserves the award. But there will always be an asterik for a lot of us. Could that team have gone undefeated in the PAC 10, the SEC? I know that's somewhat not fair. But there you go. Had he gone undefeated in a BCS plus One, there would still be legitimate detractors.
Zac
· 10 months ago
You can say what you want about their schedule, in conference or out; they did more with it than anyone else did with theirs. Not to mention, when they had to prove themselves against a quality opponent, they did that too.
Tommy_Trojan
· 10 months ago
USC1978:
I don't think we need to start turning the "Coach of the Year" award into something like the MNC game has become - "best team from best conference". We don't need it to actually be an unbeaten coach either. This is not the "BCS Coach of the Year" award. What it should be is: who took the talent that he had on hand (good or bad), and did the most with it, and actually exceeded all expectations that anybody would have thought possible.
Whittingham certainly fits that criteria. In the SEC - Nick Saban did a great job. And, of course, Houston Nutt at Mississippi did a whale of a job. Personally, I'd be inclined to want to vote for Nutt, as his mission was extremely unlikely to pull off - but he did it anyway. TCU's coach did a really nice job this year also.
U.of S.C.1978
· 10 months ago
Thanks for the rather perfect illustration of my third point Tommy. It doesn't really matter who wins what, there will always be those with other ideas. Nothing wrong with that. It's the essence of why this forum exists.
gatorhippy
· 10 months ago
Once again...
You can thank Urban for planting the seed and training Kyle...
Tom_Blogical
· 10 months ago
And once again...
You can thank Ohio for being Urban's birthplace and Ohio State for planting the seed and training Urban back in the '80s where he got his start in coaching. The second coming lives because of the Buckeye State, the cradle of coaching!
What's my point? Whoop-de-freaking-do.
Congratulations Kyle Whittingham, for winning the award with your own and your team's hard work, and for a fantastic season. You've earned it.
gatorhippy
· 10 months ago
It's also the birthplace of "Big Game" Bob...
But for some reason I don't think the Okies are thanking the Cradle of Coaching for that right now...
But in all honesty, Tom...
If it wasn't for Urban, Utes wouldn't be enjoying the success they did this year...
Whitt is following the blueprint he learned under Meyer and building his recruiting off the 2004 season...
I'm not trying to take away from him, but just saying give a little credit where credit is due...
Something Whitt has yet to do, but instead stumping against the guy that set him up...
Tom_Blogical
· 10 months ago
"But for some reason I don't think the Okies are thanking the Cradle of Coaching for that right now..."
Really? I wouldn't be so sure of that. Oklahoma's football program is doing extremely well with Stoops at the helm. At any rate, you've heard the term "tongue-in-cheek" before, right? I think the point of my comment either went soaring over your head, or you conveniently chose to ignore it. I think I know which...
As for your insistence on crediting anything and everything good to Urban "mini-god" Meyer, with all due respect...bullshit. Honestly gh, UM had nothing to do with it. Especially 3 or 4 years later. Plus, if you're going to credit him for all of Utah's success, then he has to shoulder the blame for Bowling Green's demise. Oh, I know. You want to have it both ways. Sorry, but thanks for playing anyway.
"I'm not trying to take away from him, but just saying give a little credit where credit is due..."
I'll give credit where credit is due. Without Kyle Whittingham at the helm at Utah, they wouldn't be the only undefeated 2008 FBS team.
Urban Meyer was something like...what...3000+ miles (a complete guess) away while Whittingham took over for the last 3-4 years? Give the idol worship a rest.
Ben P. said it best:
1) Whittingham was at Utah before Urban Meyer and will be here longer than Meyer will be at Florida.
2) Meyer did not plant the seed, he reaped the harvest Ron McBride had sown. Whittingham was present to learn from McBride how to build a program and successfully recruit to a smaller name school and earn the trust and donations from the alum.
3) Whittingham learned from Meyer how to marshal the players on game day to achieve success, something McBride was unable to do.
4) Being his third year, this effort reflects mostly Whittingham's accomplishments, especially with the dismantling the program received after 2004 that set us back 3 years.
gatorhippy
· 10 months ago
At any rate, you've heard the term "tongue-in-cheek" before, right?
Yes I have heard and treated it as such. Or perhaps I should make the same asssumption you made upon my Sooner comments as far as it "flying over your head" as your next stream of comments assuredly shows...
On second though, I'll pass on the assumption part...
"As for your insistence on crediting anything and everything good to Urban "mini-god" Meyer, with all due respect...bullshit."
One thing you can be counted on, TB, is putting words in people's mouths...
Please point to anywhere above that I stated or even suggested I viewed Urban as a "mini-god"...
Didn't happen, bub...
Nor did I state that Urban had "anything and everything good" with Utah...
I simply stated he planted a "seed' and Whitt learned from it and carried it forward...
Honestly gh, UM had nothing to do with it.
Really?
Because underneath all that blather you just spewed you yourself stated "Ben P. said it best" who in turn put his post what Whitt had gleened out of Meyer while he was there...
Plus, if you're going to credit him for all of Utah's success, then he has to shoulder the blame for Bowling Green's demise.
Demise, huh? At Bowling Green? After Urban Left?
So "demise" by your definition would former Meyer staffer Gregg Brandon leading the Falcons to 3 bowls (2-1), two MAC divisional championships and a .633 overall record in six seasons?
Apparently Virginia thinks otherwise since they just hired him as their OC accompanied with talk of HCiW when Al Groh retires...
What was it you said? Oh yeah...
Sorry, but thanks for playing anyway.
I would dismiss you from class but there's more...
I'll give credit where credit is due. Without Kyle Whittingham at the helm at Utah, they wouldn't be the only undefeated 2008 FBS team.
And the Utes wouldn't have been undefeated without Meyer in 2004. Your Point?
However, I'll be tying on another as too why Whitt needs to lean a little credit to Meyer for his sucess this season in going undefeated as I cover your next little piece of "reasoning(?)"...
Urban Meyer was something like...what...3000+ miles (a complete guess) away while Whittingham took over for the last 3-4 years?
True, but don't forget who supplied Whitt and staff with a comprehensive scouting report of their Sugar Bowl foe which would be the same guy who Whitt speaks with >"weekly throughout the course of the season"...
Give the idol worship a rest.
Yeah, I already adressed this, but it's fun for me to point back at it...
So where was that again? LMAO...
Tom_Blogical
· 10 months ago
"One thing you can be counted on, TB, is putting words in people's mouths..."
Hilarious! Just not for the reason you intended...
"Please point to anywhere above that I stated or even suggested I viewed Urban as a "mini-god"... Didn't happen, bub..."
See what I mean? What happened to this?
"Yes I have heard and treated it as such."
LMAO!! Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. Once again...sailed right over your head.
"So "demise" by your definition would former Meyer staffer Gregg Brandon leading the Falcons to 3 bowls (2-1), two MAC divisional championships and a .633 overall record in six seasons?"
ROTFLMAO!! "Demise" by my definition (or anyone else's) is what they've done for the last 3 seasons. 4-8, 8-5, and 6-6 definitely counts as a "demise" to me. ONCE AGAIN, you miss the bigger point, however. Whether they were successful or not, you cannot give Urban Meyer any credit for it. He wasn't freaking there.
"And the Utes wouldn't have been undefeated without Meyer in 2004. Your Point?"
You really are trying to be thick aren't you? I give UM credit for that season. He was there. He wasn't at Utah this year, nor has he been there for years. What was that you said? Oh, yeah. Your point?
"True, but don't forget who supplied Whitt and staff with a comprehensive scouting report of their Sugar Bowl foe which would be the same guy who Whitt speaks with >"weekly throughout the course of the season"..."
Shocka!! Ahem. Um...gatorhippy...let me educate you on something you really ought to be aware of. (I'm sure you are, but once again I think you chose to conveniently ignore it, thanks to your idol worship, of course...yeah, I'll address that one a little later) You see, a lot of coaches do that for each other, as they've all got relationships in the coaching brotherhood that connect everywhere. Whittingham and Meyer are buddies. I'm not surprised Meyer gave him a scouting report of Alabama, because these kinds of things happen all the time. Urban was still 3000+ (or whatever the mileage is) miles away when Whittingham sat down with his staff and reviewed film, put together a game plan, put together a practice and conditioning plan, and motivated his players for the game. (Same thing went for the rest of the season, BTW.) Urban was with his own staff devising his own successful plans. Great win in the MNC game, BTW. Meyer did a great job with his own team.
"Give the idol worship a rest. Yeah, I already adressed this, but it's fun for me to point back at it..."
ROTFL! "Denial ain't just a river in Egypt", as they say...and that applies to both your "idol worship" and your inability to understand exaggerated sarcasm. You're not a very good modern day Jim Jones, gatorhippy...have a great time drinking your own kool-aid, because there isn't anybody that's going to join you! :-)
L8r!
Zac
· 10 months ago
"Denial ain't just a river in Egypt"
And, a bigamist ain't just a fog over Naples. Sorry, TB, I got too much of a chuckle outta that one, not to give one back.
Tom_Blogical
· 10 months ago
Good one. I'll be sure to use it if I ever run into any bigamists! Ben would have a better chance than I would, though...
OU_Fan
· 10 months ago
"But for some reason I don't think the Okies are thanking the Cradle of Coaching for that right now..."
Now why wouldn't us Okies not be proud of Bob Stoops? Stoops owns a 50-2 home win/loss record in Norman. He's brought 6 Big 12 championships to Norman. Under him, 2 players have won the Heisman trophy. He's brought the crystal trophy to Norman. And yes I know, OU is 4-6 in bowl games and they have lost the last 5 out of 6 bowl games. But that doesn't matter. OU will be back in the mix once again next year and we'll get it done come bowl time..............BOOMER!
Tom_Blogical
· 10 months ago
Exactly. Stoops is a great coach. (I hope you noticed that I defended Bob in my reply...)
OU_Ron
· 10 months ago
Good job Tom, not that Stoops needs defending, his record speaks for itself......I suspect GH's post was to get a rise out of some of the Sooner fans.........as far as I'm concerned, Stoops is the best coach Oklahoma has ever had, and that's saying a lot, because there have been a lot of great coaches at OU...
TigerEducated
· 10 months ago
Les Miles was born in Ohio, as well...
Tom_Blogical
· 10 months ago
True. And Mark Mangino began his coaching career at Youngstown State as an assistant under Jim Tressel.
But I'm not going to sit here and say Ohio or Tressel should receive credit for their success, as someone else around here is wont to do. Those guys had to earn it on their own. Ohio, Texas, Louisiana are all football hotbeds, as you already know...these examples just illuminate the fact that the coaching brotherhood has many, many connections.
This taught me a long time ago never to burn any bridges in life.
1Tomcat
· 10 months ago
This is true and what you do comes back to you and sometimes it seems like everything is connected in some way, relativley speaking. In CFB coaching success is extremely difficult, its a profession that is learned and shared and inherited by ones own personal experiences. Most of he real successful guys have cross paths or worked with other successful guys and added what knowledge that they have learned to their own philosphy and applied it to their craft. Althought their ideas and gameplans may differ they are all trying their best to reach the ulimate goal of a national championship. With the current system that exist Whittinghams undefeated season and Coach of the year reward is the best that he can do at this point in his carreer. 2008 Kyle Whittingham 13-0 .72 overall wn avg Bobby Bowden 9-4 .75 Frank Beamer 10-4 .65 Bob Stoops 12-2 .81 Steve Spurrier 7-6 .73 Jim Tressel 10-3 .73 Joe Patterno 11-2 .74 Gary Patterson 11-2 .73 Nick Saban 12-2 .68 Urban Meyer 13-1 .83 Les Miles 8-5 .68 Pete Carroll 12-1 .85 Mack Brown 12-1 .66 Houston Nutt 9-4 .61 Mike Leach 11-2 .66 Phillip Fulmer 5-7 .74 Rich Rodriguez 3-9 .64 Loyd Carr's last season as HC 9-4 .75
NMLSooner
· 10 months ago
Ask Lord Spurrier what he thinks of Big Game Bob. His defense was the reason Florida won it's first NC. I believe they gave up 62 to Nebraska the year before.
Ramblin' Gator
· 10 months ago
My step-mother is from Massilon, Ohio and it always amazes me to hear her talk about the football tradition in that area. So many great coaches and great players started out there.
Tom_Blogical
· 10 months ago
No argument here. People live, breathe and eat football in Ohio.
War_Eagle_Atlanta
· 10 months ago
Not to mention US presidents. 7 so far--tied with Virginia for first...
Ramblin' Gator
· 10 months ago
Okay, but what about the IMPORTANT statistic - how many great football coaches are from Virginia? ;-)
Tom_Blogical
· 10 months ago
OK, I'll bite, I think it's interesting. How many?
War_Eagle_Atlanta
· 10 months ago
Frank Beamer count?
Zac
· 10 months ago
Sorry to hafta disapointcha, but Beamer's originally from North Carolina.
1Tomcat
· 10 months ago
How many from Illinios? BTW remember the US president from Michigan who came to San Antonio and ate a tamale ?- do yall remember- because I cant seem to get that image outa my head for some reason- I believe he was a former player for the Wolverines
War_Eagle_Atlanta
· 10 months ago
Gerald R. Ford--the longest lived ex president, I believe...
1Tomcat
· 10 months ago
Your right WEA tamales are a traditional food around here, yall eat them over in the AL/Ga region? because they must not have any in Michigan, I know they have then in La I like mine with deer chili on top with kechup& onions
Ben Prather
· 10 months ago
1) Whittingham was at Utah before Urban Meyer and will be here longer than Meyer will be at Florida.
2) Meyer did not plant the seed, he reaped the harvest Ron McBride had sown. Whittingham was present to learn from McBride how to build a program and successfully recruit to a smaller name school and earn the trust and donations from the alum.
3) Whittingham learned from Meyer how to marshal the players on game day to achieve success, something McBride was unable to do.
4) Being his third year, this effort reflects mostly Whittingham's accomplishments, especially with the dismantling the program received after 2004 that set us back 3 years.
Bama_Babe
· 10 months ago
Thanks Ben. Gatorhippy and Co. were beginning to out-do us Bama fans with the whole "Our coach is a god" thing......
Wait, no. They already have WAAAAY out done us. I forgot Tebow and Meyer have to share the kingdom....
gatorhippy
· 10 months ago
Honey, there is only one set of fans that has passed the ridiculousness of the Bammers love of the Bear...
And that would be the Noles...
At least Bama waited until Bryant retired and died before erecting a statue of him outside the stadium...
And I'm pretty sure there wasn't a stained glass window of the Bear the last time I was at Bryant-Denny...
War_Eagle_Atlanta
· 10 months ago
Well, at least FSU hasn't added Bowden's name to the stadium, unlike Alabama, who was the 2nd team in the country to name their stadium in part to an active coach. They were right behind Auburn, who started that hideous practice.
That's one thing I feel strongly about--renaming things in general, especially for an active (or living) coach AND for financial contributors to the university. To me, that's no better than granting corporate naming rights. Two that come to mind are Ben-Hill Griffin and Milan Puskar. Give the glory to someone who earned it on the sidelines or within the administration.
Don't give FSU too much credit though. They were probably faced with the daunting task of either dropping Doak or Campbell from the name, or being the first stadium in the country to have three names. Bowden-Doak-Campbell.
Get too many names and you start to sound like a law firm...
Ben Prather
· 10 months ago
What about T. Boone Pickens Stadium?
gatorhippy
· 10 months ago
Well, back on a mild Thanksgiving weekend in 2004 they did rename the turf in DCS to Ron Zook Field...
I thought that was nice of them...
Ramblin' Gator
· 10 months ago
I'd suggest you give Meyer a little more credit than that. Florida would not even be on the map at this point if it weren't for what Spurrier accomplished in Gainesville and every honest and knowledgeable Gators fan will either admit or proclaim this. I don't know where Utah would be now without Meyer's contribution, but I suspect it's a bit south of what you've described here, Ben. Give credit where credit is due and stop hating Florida if you're mad at the BCS.
Congrats to Coach Whittingham, the team and all Utah fans. This is a well deserved honor by a great coach who has made a difference.
Ben Prather
· 10 months ago
Meyer did this for Utah:
He cleaned house on our discipline problems. He rose the bar on our competitiveness. He rose everyones expectations of what the program was capable of.
Without his influence we would have lost to Oregon State and TCU this year.
His two years at Utah, however, are nothing compared to Spurrier's storied career at Florida. He did not build our program, he took our solid foundation and showed us the blueprints.
War_Eagle_Atlanta
· 10 months ago
Perhaps one day, Spurrier's resume in the trophy cabinet might get crowded out by someone else's resume...
gatorhippy
· 10 months ago
Whitt's in the FL panhandle with you right now!?!??! J/K...
1) Whittingham was at Utah before Urban Meyer and will be here longer than Meyer will be at Florida.
His Mormon roots might hold him there for a long time and possibly longer than Meyer will stay in Hogtown...
But what's your point?
2) Meyer did not plant the seed, he reaped the harvest Ron McBride had sown.
What harvest? the one that got McBride canned?
Whittingham was present to learn from McBride how to build a program and successfully recruit to a smaller name school and earn the trust and donations from the alum.
Is that the same plan that McBride is using at Weber State right now?
3) Whittingham learned from Meyer how to marshal the players on game day to achieve success, something McBride was unable to do.
He assuredly learned alot more than that starting with strength & conditioning and ending with game preparation...
4) Being his third year, this effort reflects mostly Whittingham's accomplishments, especially with the dismantling the program received after 2004 that set us back 3 years.
Ummm, yeah...
This is Whitt's 4th year, bud...
And what dismantling are you talking about? Graduation?
Again, Ben, as I said before I'm not taking anything away from Whitt but there is more Meyer in there than I think you want to admit...
The team I saw come out in the Sugar Bowl had essences of Meyer football all over it...
Ben Prather
· 10 months ago
He assuredly learned alot more than that starting with strength & conditioning and ending with game preparation...
Actually, Utah had committed to building state of the art facilities in the late 1980's and had built them by the late 90's. Ron McBride had the infrastructure and recruiting network needed to get the players Urban Meyer had.
He was canned because he did not perform on game day. His play selection was horrible and if any type of adversity would come the team would fold.
He was hired at Weber State to build it's infrastructure, and has got them from being bottom dwellers in their conference to being title contenders. He still loses the big games in the tournament.
And what dismantling are you talking about? Graduation?
After 2004 2/3 of our coaching staff, including the entire offensive staff, bolted. Several players left early to go to the NFL, and we did not have the depth at that time to deal with that.
The team I saw come out in the Sugar Bowl had essences of Meyer football all over it...
See my response to rambling gator above for what Meyer brought to Utah, the qualities that Whittingham learned from him.
gatorhippy
· 10 months ago
Honestly, Ben...
I have no beef with it...
Perhaps a rewording of my orginal statement...
McBride planted the seed, Meyer brought it to bloom, Whitt tends the garden...
Better?
Ben Prather
· 10 months ago
MUCH better.
Zac
· 10 months ago
Nice job, GH.
War_Eagle_Atlanta
· 10 months ago
So Ben, you think that Whittingham will be there a while. You don't think that if he keeps up this success that some bigger name school might not try to poach him? And that he wouldn't jump at the chance?
Hell, he might even take a lateral transfer to BYU--being that's his alma mater...
Ben Prather
· 10 months ago
Whittingham was indeed a player at BYU during the Lavell Edwards era. He has seen what a celebrity a coach can be in Utah and the support the area can provide.
Lavell interviewed a number of times, but always came back to his roots. He might interview, but the deal would have to be pretty incredible to get him to leave. He has stated that his income is sufficient for the needs of his family and values his ties to Utah.
As for BYU, after 2004 Utah and BYU both offered him their open HC position. He chose to stay at Utah. If he was going to return to the blue side that was the perfect opportunity for him to do so.
Glass_Joe
· 10 months ago
Perhaps you forget but Wittingham was set to take the Y job and only stayed at Utah when offered more money. Can't say I blame him but maybe the old greenback could persuade him again in the future, away from Utah...just sayin'.
Ben Prather
· 10 months ago
I think he saw an opportunity to become a Lavell Edwards for either program. His familiarity with that page in football history in the state of Utah has shaped his idea of what a great coach is.
I may be mistaken, but his interviews indicate his idea of a great coach is one that builds and maintains a program for an entended period of time, not one that jumps from offer to offer at the drop of a hat.
Zac
· 10 months ago
Almost seems like the thing ran full circle. The trainer wins a NC; the trainee wins Coach of the Year. Too bad they couldn't have played each other.
War_Eagle_Atlanta
· 10 months ago
Coach of the year, like the BCS, is a mythical championship--because all the coaches don't play each other. In golf, that is...
Good thing the award is given out after the bowl games, instead of before, lest many might have voted for Nick Saban--the very coach that Whittingham beat in the bowl. Naturally, that would have been in a long standing tradition of Alabama--winning championships before the bowl games...
TigerEducated
· 10 months ago
Nick Saban, University of Alabama - 2008 National Regular Season Coach Of The Year
War_Eagle_Atlanta
· 10 months ago
Hey hey! Look who's back. Been hitting the absinthe bottle all weekend?
All Comments
I don't think we need to start turning the "Coach of the Year" award into something like the MNC game has become - "best team from best conference". We don't need it to actually be an unbeaten coach either. This is not the "BCS Coach of the Year" award. What it should be is: who took the talent that he had on hand (good or bad), and did the most with it, and actually exceeded all expectations that anybody would have thought possible.
Whittingham certainly fits that criteria. In the SEC - Nick Saban did a great job. And, of course, Houston Nutt at Mississippi did a whale of a job. Personally, I'd be inclined to want to vote for Nutt, as his mission was extremely unlikely to pull off - but he did it anyway. TCU's coach did a really nice job this year also.
You can thank Urban for planting the seed and training Kyle...
You can thank Ohio for being Urban's birthplace and Ohio State for planting the seed and training Urban back in the '80s where he got his start in coaching. The second coming lives because of the Buckeye State, the cradle of coaching!
What's my point? Whoop-de-freaking-do.
Congratulations Kyle Whittingham, for winning the award with your own and your team's hard work, and for a fantastic season. You've earned it.
But for some reason I don't think the Okies are thanking the Cradle of Coaching for that right now...
But in all honesty, Tom...
If it wasn't for Urban, Utes wouldn't be enjoying the success they did this year...
Whitt is following the blueprint he learned under Meyer and building his recruiting off the 2004 season...
I'm not trying to take away from him, but just saying give a little credit where credit is due...
Something Whitt has yet to do, but instead stumping against the guy that set him up...
Really? I wouldn't be so sure of that. Oklahoma's football program is doing extremely well with Stoops at the helm. At any rate, you've heard the term "tongue-in-cheek" before, right? I think the point of my comment either went soaring over your head, or you conveniently chose to ignore it. I think I know which...
As for your insistence on crediting anything and everything good to Urban "mini-god" Meyer, with all due respect...bullshit. Honestly gh, UM had nothing to do with it. Especially 3 or 4 years later. Plus, if you're going to credit him for all of Utah's success, then he has to shoulder the blame for Bowling Green's demise. Oh, I know. You want to have it both ways. Sorry, but thanks for playing anyway.
"I'm not trying to take away from him, but just saying give a little credit where credit is due..."
I'll give credit where credit is due. Without Kyle Whittingham at the helm at Utah, they wouldn't be the only undefeated 2008 FBS team.
Urban Meyer was something like...what...3000+ miles (a complete guess) away while Whittingham took over for the last 3-4 years? Give the idol worship a rest.
Ben P. said it best:
1) Whittingham was at Utah before Urban Meyer and will be here longer than Meyer will be at Florida.
2) Meyer did not plant the seed, he reaped the harvest Ron McBride had sown. Whittingham was present to learn from McBride how to build a program and successfully recruit to a smaller name school and earn the trust and donations from the alum.
3) Whittingham learned from Meyer how to marshal the players on game day to achieve success, something McBride was unable to do.
4) Being his third year, this effort reflects mostly Whittingham's accomplishments, especially with the dismantling the program received after 2004 that set us back 3 years.
Yes I have heard and treated it as such. Or perhaps I should make the same asssumption you made upon my Sooner comments as far as it "flying over your head" as your next stream of comments assuredly shows...
On second though, I'll pass on the assumption part...
"As for your insistence on crediting anything and everything good to Urban "mini-god" Meyer, with all due respect...bullshit."
One thing you can be counted on, TB, is putting words in people's mouths...
Please point to anywhere above that I stated or even suggested I viewed Urban as a "mini-god"...
Didn't happen, bub...
Nor did I state that Urban had "anything and everything good" with Utah...
I simply stated he planted a "seed' and Whitt learned from it and carried it forward...
Honestly gh, UM had nothing to do with it.
Really?
Because underneath all that blather you just spewed you yourself stated "Ben P. said it best" who in turn put his post what Whitt had gleened out of Meyer while he was there...
Plus, if you're going to credit him for all of Utah's success, then he has to shoulder the blame for Bowling Green's demise.
Demise, huh? At Bowling Green? After Urban Left?
So "demise" by your definition would former Meyer staffer Gregg Brandon leading the Falcons to 3 bowls (2-1), two MAC divisional championships and a .633 overall record in six seasons?
Apparently Virginia thinks otherwise since they just hired him as their OC accompanied with talk of HCiW when Al Groh retires...
What was it you said? Oh yeah...
Sorry, but thanks for playing anyway.
I would dismiss you from class but there's more...
I'll give credit where credit is due. Without Kyle Whittingham at the helm at Utah, they wouldn't be the only undefeated 2008 FBS team.
And the Utes wouldn't have been undefeated without Meyer in 2004. Your Point?
However, I'll be tying on another as too why Whitt needs to lean a little credit to Meyer for his sucess this season in going undefeated as I cover your next little piece of "reasoning(?)"...
Urban Meyer was something like...what...3000+ miles (a complete guess) away while Whittingham took over for the last 3-4 years?
True, but don't forget who supplied Whitt and staff with a comprehensive scouting report of their Sugar Bowl foe which would be the same guy who Whitt speaks with >"weekly throughout the course of the season"...
Give the idol worship a rest.
Yeah, I already adressed this, but it's fun for me to point back at it...
So where was that again? LMAO...
Hilarious! Just not for the reason you intended...
"Please point to anywhere above that I stated or even suggested I viewed Urban as a "mini-god"... Didn't happen, bub..."
See what I mean? What happened to this?
"Yes I have heard and treated it as such."
LMAO!! Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. Once again...sailed right over your head.
"So "demise" by your definition would former Meyer staffer Gregg Brandon leading the Falcons to 3 bowls (2-1), two MAC divisional championships and a .633 overall record in six seasons?"
ROTFLMAO!! "Demise" by my definition (or anyone else's) is what they've done for the last 3 seasons. 4-8, 8-5, and 6-6 definitely counts as a "demise" to me. ONCE AGAIN, you miss the bigger point, however. Whether they were successful or not, you cannot give Urban Meyer any credit for it. He wasn't freaking there.
"And the Utes wouldn't have been undefeated without Meyer in 2004. Your Point?"
You really are trying to be thick aren't you? I give UM credit for that season. He was there. He wasn't at Utah this year, nor has he been there for years. What was that you said? Oh, yeah. Your point?
"True, but don't forget who supplied Whitt and staff with a comprehensive scouting report of their Sugar Bowl foe which would be the same guy who Whitt speaks with >"weekly throughout the course of the season"..."
Shocka!! Ahem. Um...gatorhippy...let me educate you on something you really ought to be aware of. (I'm sure you are, but once again I think you chose to conveniently ignore it, thanks to your idol worship, of course...yeah, I'll address that one a little later) You see, a lot of coaches do that for each other, as they've all got relationships in the coaching brotherhood that connect everywhere. Whittingham and Meyer are buddies. I'm not surprised Meyer gave him a scouting report of Alabama, because these kinds of things happen all the time. Urban was still 3000+ (or whatever the mileage is) miles away when Whittingham sat down with his staff and reviewed film, put together a game plan, put together a practice and conditioning plan, and motivated his players for the game. (Same thing went for the rest of the season, BTW.) Urban was with his own staff devising his own successful plans. Great win in the MNC game, BTW. Meyer did a great job with his own team.
"Give the idol worship a rest. Yeah, I already adressed this, but it's fun for me to point back at it..."
ROTFL! "Denial ain't just a river in Egypt", as they say...and that applies to both your "idol worship" and your inability to understand exaggerated sarcasm. You're not a very good modern day Jim Jones, gatorhippy...have a great time drinking your own kool-aid, because there isn't anybody that's going to join you! :-)
L8r!
And, a bigamist ain't just a fog over Naples. Sorry, TB, I got too much of a chuckle outta that one, not to give one back.
Now why wouldn't us Okies not be proud of Bob Stoops? Stoops owns a 50-2 home win/loss record in Norman. He's brought 6 Big 12 championships to Norman. Under him, 2 players have won the Heisman trophy. He's brought the crystal trophy to Norman. And yes I know, OU is 4-6 in bowl games and they have lost the last 5 out of 6 bowl games. But that doesn't matter. OU will be back in the mix once again next year and we'll get it done come bowl time..............BOOMER!
But I'm not going to sit here and say Ohio or Tressel should receive credit for their success, as someone else around here is wont to do. Those guys had to earn it on their own. Ohio, Texas, Louisiana are all football hotbeds, as you already know...these examples just illuminate the fact that the coaching brotherhood has many, many connections.
This taught me a long time ago never to burn any bridges in life.
In CFB coaching success is extremely difficult, its a profession that is learned and shared and inherited by ones own personal experiences.
Most of he real successful guys have cross paths or worked with other successful guys and added what knowledge that they have learned to their own philosphy and applied it to their craft. Althought their ideas and gameplans may differ they are all trying their best to reach the ulimate goal of a national championship. With the current system that exist Whittinghams undefeated season and Coach of the year reward is the best that he can do at this point in his carreer.
2008
Kyle Whittingham 13-0 .72 overall wn avg
Bobby Bowden 9-4 .75
Frank Beamer 10-4 .65
Bob Stoops 12-2 .81
Steve Spurrier 7-6 .73
Jim Tressel 10-3 .73
Joe Patterno 11-2 .74
Gary Patterson 11-2 .73
Nick Saban 12-2 .68
Urban Meyer 13-1 .83
Les Miles 8-5 .68
Pete Carroll 12-1 .85
Mack Brown 12-1 .66
Houston Nutt 9-4 .61
Mike Leach 11-2 .66
Phillip Fulmer 5-7 .74
Rich Rodriguez 3-9 .64
Loyd Carr's last season as HC 9-4 .75
BTW remember the US president from Michigan who came to San Antonio and ate a tamale ?- do yall remember- because I cant seem to get that image outa my head for some reason- I believe he was a former player for the Wolverines
I like mine with deer chili on top with kechup& onions
2) Meyer did not plant the seed, he reaped the harvest Ron McBride had sown. Whittingham was present to learn from McBride how to build a program and successfully recruit to a smaller name school and earn the trust and donations from the alum.
3) Whittingham learned from Meyer how to marshal the players on game day to achieve success, something McBride was unable to do.
4) Being his third year, this effort reflects mostly Whittingham's accomplishments, especially with the dismantling the program received after 2004 that set us back 3 years.
Wait, no. They already have WAAAAY out done us. I forgot Tebow and Meyer have to share the kingdom....
And that would be the Noles...
At least Bama waited until Bryant retired and died before erecting a statue of him outside the stadium...
And I'm pretty sure there wasn't a stained glass window of the Bear the last time I was at Bryant-Denny...
That's one thing I feel strongly about--renaming things in general, especially for an active (or living) coach AND for financial contributors to the university. To me, that's no better than granting corporate naming rights. Two that come to mind are Ben-Hill Griffin and Milan Puskar. Give the glory to someone who earned it on the sidelines or within the administration.
Don't give FSU too much credit though. They were probably faced with the daunting task of either dropping Doak or Campbell from the name, or being the first stadium in the country to have three names. Bowden-Doak-Campbell.
Get too many names and you start to sound like a law firm...
I thought that was nice of them...
Congrats to Coach Whittingham, the team and all Utah fans. This is a well deserved honor by a great coach who has made a difference.
He cleaned house on our discipline problems.
He rose the bar on our competitiveness.
He rose everyones expectations of what the program was capable of.
Without his influence we would have lost to Oregon State and TCU this year.
His two years at Utah, however, are nothing compared to Spurrier's storied career at Florida. He did not build our program, he took our solid foundation and showed us the blueprints.
1) Whittingham was at Utah before Urban Meyer and will be here longer than Meyer will be at Florida.
His Mormon roots might hold him there for a long time and possibly longer than Meyer will stay in Hogtown...
But what's your point?
2) Meyer did not plant the seed, he reaped the harvest Ron McBride had sown.
What harvest? the one that got McBride canned?
Whittingham was present to learn from McBride how to build a program and successfully recruit to a smaller name school and earn the trust and donations from the alum.
Is that the same plan that McBride is using at Weber State right now?
3) Whittingham learned from Meyer how to marshal the players on game day to achieve success, something McBride was unable to do.
He assuredly learned alot more than that starting with strength & conditioning and ending with game preparation...
4) Being his third year, this effort reflects mostly Whittingham's accomplishments, especially with the dismantling the program received after 2004 that set us back 3 years.
Ummm, yeah...
This is Whitt's 4th year, bud...
And what dismantling are you talking about? Graduation?
Again, Ben, as I said before I'm not taking anything away from Whitt but there is more Meyer in there than I think you want to admit...
The team I saw come out in the Sugar Bowl had essences of Meyer football all over it...
Actually, Utah had committed to building state of the art facilities in the late 1980's and had built them by the late 90's. Ron McBride had the infrastructure and recruiting network needed to get the players Urban Meyer had.
He was canned because he did not perform on game day. His play selection was horrible and if any type of adversity would come the team would fold.
He was hired at Weber State to build it's infrastructure, and has got them from being bottom dwellers in their conference to being title contenders. He still loses the big games in the tournament.
And what dismantling are you talking about? Graduation?
After 2004 2/3 of our coaching staff, including the entire offensive staff, bolted. Several players left early to go to the NFL, and we did not have the depth at that time to deal with that.
The team I saw come out in the Sugar Bowl had essences of Meyer football all over it...
See my response to rambling gator above for what Meyer brought to Utah, the qualities that Whittingham learned from him.
I have no beef with it...
Perhaps a rewording of my orginal statement...
McBride planted the seed, Meyer brought it to bloom, Whitt tends the garden...
Better?
Hell, he might even take a lateral transfer to BYU--being that's his alma mater...
Lavell interviewed a number of times, but always came back to his roots. He might interview, but the deal would have to be pretty incredible to get him to leave. He has stated that his income is sufficient for the needs of his family and values his ties to Utah.
As for BYU, after 2004 Utah and BYU both offered him their open HC position. He chose to stay at Utah. If he was going to return to the blue side that was the perfect opportunity for him to do so.
I may be mistaken, but his interviews indicate his idea of a great coach is one that builds and maintains a program for an entended period of time, not one that jumps from offer to offer at the drop of a hat.
Good thing the award is given out after the bowl games, instead of before, lest many might have voted for Nick Saban--the very coach that Whittingham beat in the bowl. Naturally, that would have been in a long standing tradition of Alabama--winning championships before the bowl games...