Utah football coaches in my lifetime…

[ProudUte]

Technically Jack Curtis coached at Utah when I was alive, but I do not remember him.

Ray Nagel – Nagel led Utah to the 1964 co-championship and took the Utes to the Liberty Bowl where we beat West Virginia in the first college football game ever played indoors. He left after the 1965 season to coach at Iowa. I liked Nagel and hated to lose him.

Mike Giddings – He lasted only two seasons at Utah with a 10-11 record. Utah was his first and only head coaching gig. He had been an assistant at USC. I was disappointed to see him fired.

Bill Meek – He coached from 68-73. He had previously coached at Kansas State, Houston, and SMU. They came very close to winning the Wac championship in 1969. Arizona kicked a last-second field goal to beat the Utes 16-14. One of the toughest losses in my lifetime. He had some good players and you always thought they were going to have a great season. He resigned after a 7-5 season in 1973.

Tom Lovat – He inherited a mess and made things worse. He won just five games in three seasons. This was the lowest point in Utah football history. I remember attending games in those 1-10 seasons.

Wayne Howard – Wayne turned things around and made Utah competitive. In his second season (1978) he led the Utes to an 8-3 season that ended with a 23-22 upset of BYU. This game is one of my fondest memories. In 1982 the team went 8-2-1 and played for the Wac Championship against Jim McMahon and BYU. We lost and in his post-game interview, he basically said he was leaving. He was young (age 50) and never coached major college football again. The BYU/Utah rivalry got in his head. He could not understand how the home city for his team supported BYU over Utah. He was a great coach who left coaching way too early.

Chuck Stobart – He was a hard-nosed guy and his teams played hard-nosed football. But, after just three seasons, and a 16-17-1 record – Utah and Stobart parted ways.

Jim Fassel – He was an offensive-minded coach and Utah had some amazing offenses during his tenure. I remember Scott Mitchell throwing for 619 yards in a loss to Air Force. They never had a defense while he was here. He was fired after the 1989 season. He went on to later take the NY Giants to a Super Boal as a head coach.

Ron McBride – He came to Utah originally with Wayne Howard. He was a one-year offensive coordinator for Stobart and then again with Fassel. He went on the be an assistant at Arizona. Utah brought him back to SLC. He was brilliant. He learned from what he saw Edwards do at BYU. He embraced the LDS missionary system and promoted kids to go on missions. He also hit the road and recruited Polynesians like no other Utah coach had done. Both things helped him bring Utah football back. However, IMO he peaked in the early 2000s and was let go after the 2002 season.

Urban Meyer – Everyone knows his story. He brought the Utah fans in with an exciting brand of football and went 22-2 during two seasons before leaving to Florida.

Kyle Wittingham – Kyle said that he learned from some of the best including his dad, Lavell Edwards, Ron McBride, and Urban Meyer. These men all helped Kyle become the coach that we see today. His current record is 154-74. He has taken Utah to three NY6 bowls and won multiple conference championships. We are lucky to have him.

Go Utes!!!

[Jim Vanderhoof]

Thanks proud Ute. That was awesome. I remember every coach on the list. Nice little synopsis of each. Lovat era was the low point and I was there to witness first hand.

[MDUte]

Thanks Proud, amazing post!!

[TX_UTE]

Great post! I was at the ’78 game and believe it or not, the games were so poorly attended you could just walk up at game time and get a free student ticket and sit anywhere in the stadium…and forget tailgating!

[UtahPilot47]

Utah was a decent mid-level program up through the Nagel era. A different coach could have lead the program to the next level 35 years before it actually happened. Instead things went backwards. I grew up in the 80’s. It was a rough time to be a Ute football fan. Every season there was a sliver of hope just be crushed. It felt like every season ended with BYU beating us. Thank you McBride, Urban, and Kyle.

[MDUte]

#UtahLegend!

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— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) March 18, 2024

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