Kyle Whittingham on legendary Utah coach: 'He was the best at what was the most important'

Utes will honor two program legends during Saturday's home opener vs. Cal Poly

Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham celebrates the victory against the UCLA Bruins at Rose Bowl. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Coming off back-to-back bowl appearances for the first time in a quarter-century, then-Utah head coach Ron McBride decided to bring in a plucky, defensive-minded coach to bolster the Utes' identity on that side of the ball.

Roughly 30 years later, the protégé has taken the helm of the ship McBride once helped steer onto the right path, and will have an opportunity to see his mentor be immortalized into program lore ahead of the Utes' home opener on Saturday.

"He really put Utah football back on the map," said current Utes head coach and former defensive coordinator under McBride, Kyle Whittingham, during his weekly press conference on Monday. "And for me personally, gave me my first opportunity in Division I football. I'm forever grateful for that."

Prior to joining McBride's staff in 1994, Whittingham spent five seasons serving various roles at Idaho State, a public university in Pocatello, Idaho, which competed in the Division I-AA (now known as the Football Championship Subdivision). He had previously worked at Eastern Utah and BYU following a short NFL stint.

Meanwhile, McBride was busy turning around a program in Salt Lake City that hadn't gone to a bowl game in 25 years and enjoyed only eight winning seasons during that stretch.

Utah's postseason drought ended in 1992, when McBride guided the Utes to an appearance in the Cotton Bowl. They followed up with an appearance in the Freedom Bowl in 1993 and went on to finish the 1994 campaign with their first 10-win season in program history, capped off with a win over No. 15 Arizona in the Freedom Bowl to finish with a top 10 national ranking at the end of the season.

"Coach Mac was responsible for the resurgence of Utah football," Whittingham said. "If you say, 'what is coach Mac's strength,' it was recruiting, and in college, that's the most important aspect to your job. So you can say he was the best at what was the most important."

Oct 30, 2021; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Spence Eccles and former Utah coach Ron McBride speak during a break in action in a game against the UCLA Bruins at Rice-Eccles Stadium. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Indeed, the Utes' turnaround was made possible, in part, by the talented players McBride recruited to Salt Lake City. In total, he churned out 21 NFL draft selections over his 12 seasons as Utah's head coach, including Luther Elliss — now the Utes' defensive tackles coach — as well as Jordan Gross, Jamal Anderson and Steve Smith Sr., among others.

Whittingham certainly played a part in the Utes' revival on the gridiron too, especially after taking over defensive coordinator duties from his father, Fred Whittingham, in 1995. Utah didn't skip a beat amid the transition, as the Utes led the Mountain West in total defense from 2000-2002 (three seasons) and ranked among the top 30 teams in the country in scoring defense from 1999-2003, coming in as high as No. 13 nationally. Utah also ranked No. 12 in the country in total defense in 2002.

A couple of losing seasons in a row saw McBride's tenure as Utah's head coach end in 2002, but not before the South Gate, California, native compiled an 88-63 career record; one Western Athletic Conference championship (1995) and one Mountain West Conference championship (1999).

After serving as Weber State's head coach (2005-11), McBride was into the Utah Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012, the Utah Sports Hall of Fame in 2013 and the Weber State Hall of Fame in 2021.

"Obviously, deserving of his Ring of Honor induction that he's going to be getting this week," Whittingham said of McBride. "He's meant so much to the community — not just Utah football and the university, but he's so active in the community and he's a guy that's constantly giving, and has done that all his life."

McBride will enter Utah's Ring of Honor on Saturday alongside former Utes wide receiver Roy Jefferson. The Texarkana, Arkansas, native was an all-conference selection in each of his three seasons with the team (1962-64) and was quite the versatile player for the Utes. As a senior in 1964, Jefferson lined up at receiver and running back on offense, plus defensive back on defense and placekicker on special teams.

Kickoff between the Utes (1-0) and Mustangs (1-0) from Rice-Eccles Stadium is set for 3 p.m. PT/4 p.m. MT, with gates slated to open at 2 p.m. MT.