Utah's Kyle Whittingham nominated for esteemed college football award

Whittingham has the Utes off to a 5-1 start in 2025

Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham celebrates with fans after defeating the West Virginia Mountaineers at Milan Puskar Stadium. | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

Utah football head coach Kyle Whittingham was tabbed to the watch list for the 2025 Paul "Bear" Bryant National Coach of the Year Award ahead of Saturday's Holy War showdown against his alma mater.

Whittingham, now in year No. 21 at the helm of the Utes, joined 27 other head coaches in contention for the prestigious honor, including his former defensive coordinator and current BYU head coach Kalani Sitake.

Named after the legendary Alabama head coach, the award is given out each January to a college football coach for contributions that make the sport better for athletes and fans alike by demonstrating grit, integrity and a winning approach to coaching and life, both on and off the field, according to the award's website.

Whittingham, who won the award in 2008, and Sitake were among a group of four Big 12 coaches who earned a spot on the watch list; Cincinnati's Scott Satterfield and Texas Tech's Joey McGuire were also nominated. The Paul "Bear" Bryant Awards will also present conference coach of the year honors for each of the Power Four leagues, in addition to the national coach of the year award.

𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐁𝐫𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭#GoUtes | @bryantawards pic.twitter.com/p9tLFMOwUV

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) October 17, 2025

Whittingham took home the esteemed honor after the Utes capped off their undefeated 2007-08 campaign with a double-digit win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Utah, which claimed the No. 2 spot in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll, was not the BCS National Champion but was recognized by the NCAA-recognized Anderson/Hester computer poll as the sport's national champion.

While the opportunity to pull off another unscathed run through their schedule has passed, time will tell whether the Utes' 5-1 start to the 2025 campaign translates to another appearance in a prominent bowl game and an additional trophy to Whittingham's mantle. Utah checks in as the No. 23 team in the media poll and No. 14 in the ESPN FPI rankings leading up to its clash with its nationally-ranked and undefeated in-state rival, BYU, on Saturday in Provo, Utah.

The coach of the year award winner will be presented Jan. 21 during the annual Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Awards ceremony in Houston.

2025 Paul "Bear" Bryant Award Watch List

• Bret Bielema, Illinois
• Curt Cignetti, Indiana
• Mario Cristobal, Miami
• Ryan Day, Ohio State
• Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
• Eliah Drinkwitz, Missouri
• Mike Elko, Texas A&M
• Tony Elliott, Virginia
• Matt Entz, Fresno State
• Willie Fritz, Houston
• Alex Golesh, South Florida
• Josh Heupel, Tennessee
• Brian Kelly, LSU
• Brent Key, Georgia Tech
• Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss
• Dan Lanning, Oregon
• Clark Lea, Vanderbilt
• Joey McGuire, Texas Tech
• Dan Mullen, UNLV
• Brian Newberry, Navy
• Lincoln Riley, USC
• Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati
• Ryan Silverfield, Memphis
• Kalani Sitake, BYU
• Kirby Smart, Georgia
• Jon Sumrall, Tulane
• Brent Venables, Oklahoma
• Kyle Whittingham, Utah