Why Lud Gone Means Whitt Gonna Be Gone

I doubt whit leaves to be honest. 1 his contract , why would you leave that money on the table . 2 as a natural competitor, you embrace the adversity to rise again on top, whit has invested too many years to leaving on a sour note. 3 he’s a stubborn old goat. Just imo

Agree on the OC point. Doesn’t make sense for KW to hire the OC if Morgan is taking over in the next 1-2 years. Naming a coach in waiting secures continuity with Morgan and signals KW has his eye on the door. I’m sure there’s perk overlap with the consultant gig in his contract. Good hell, KW makes enough $ for 10 people to comfortably retire. At 65, time is more valuable than money. KW’s mentioned several times he’s going out when coaching is no longer enjoyable. Man, it can’t be fun what he’s dealing with now especially if he’s losing trust from players and a brutal schedule ahead. How Utah plays in the remaining games may factor in starting with Houston arguably the worst team in the B12 at the moment. Honestly, going out when the program is down maybe best for Morgan to start fresh with tempered expectations.

Until I see different body language and commentary from Whitt, I’m of the opinion that he’s going to be at Utah for a while. There are people out there, and I was one of them, that are well compensated but aren’t in love with their line of work. So, when those people make their mint and have their future assured, they jump ship.

Whitt doesn’t strike me as one of those persons. I believe he loves coaching and specifically coaching at Utah, so doing this isn’t really like work for him. Provided Utah continues to win and stay relevant beyond this season, I think he’ll at least stay until his current contract expires.

The biggest arguments for Whitt staying are the contract, and he doesn’t want to go out on what has been a completely disappointing season. The argument for retirement is that he will still get paid in an advisory role, he already has plenty of money, and he wants to spend more time with his family without the stresses(especially in the NIL era) of being a college football coach. Saban is a prime example of a guy that walked away for those very reasons. I don’t know what he will choose ultimately.

It’ll be interesting to see, and I think it will depend on how the rest of the season shakes out. Not that a specific team outcome guarantees something from Whitt (e.g. a nosedive season could mean either he is determined to come back and go out on a higher note, or realizes the program needs a new voice), but there is a lot currently hanging in the balance.

If he were to draw it up I would suspect it was a CFP berth this year with Rising’s last year, and then he hands the reins to Scalley as that would represent the apex of the groundwork he’s been laying the last ~20 years. Obviously, that’s not happening, so a lot of it will hinge on the locker room and the reaction to the rest of the season. I would hope that if he realizes the program needs something different, he’d be gracious enough to step down, especially considering he would remain involved with the program in that advisory role.