Saying 'So Long' To The Most Underrated College Football Coach Of All Time

In a somewhat shocking move yesterday, amid the chaos surrounding Ann Arbor over the Sherrone Moore scandal, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham quietly called it quits after 21 years in Salt Lake City.

It's fitting that Whittingham did so with little pomp and circumstance, since his entire career has been about getting things done with little fanfare or frills.

The numbers speak for themselves: 177 wins (a Utah record by a long shot), eight 10-win seasons, 37 All-Americans, 68 NFL draft picks, and four New Year's Six/BCS Bowl berths.

Outside two years under Urban Meyer (coincidentally, Whittingham's direct predecessor), Utah was never known to be a football powerhouse until Whittingham turned them into a consistent winner during his tenure.

Throughout his time as a Ute, Whittingham guided the program through their years as a BCS outsider while they were in the Mountain West Conference and then as they made the transition to a power conference in the Pac 12.

All the while, very few people ever brought him up as one of the best coaches in the game.

Despite numerous Coach of the Year awards, both in conference and nationally, the public rarely discussed Whittingham as one of the greats in college football, and it's a shame they didn't, because he deserves every ounce of appreciation being sent his way.

It's a testament to his coaching prowess that Whittigham had the Utes on the doorstep of the College Football Playoff in year 21 of his illustrious tenure, showing that he had not lost a step as far as his ability to lead the team.

Even some of the greatest coaches in both college football and sports in general don't get a chance to go out on top, but Whittingham is retiring with plenty of gas still left in the tank.

Oftentimes, people talk about how a great artist or musician is never appreciated fully until after their career is over, or they pass away, and I think the vibe is similar with a guy like Whittingham.

I'm seeing people shower him with praise only after the man announced he was stepping down, which is sad considering he deserved that praise while he was still coaching.

To me, Kyle Whittingham is the single most underrated, and perhaps, underappreciated college football coach of my generation.

It's nice to finally see him getting the flowers he deserves, even if it comes at the end of his career.

Enjoy retirement, coach. You've certainly earned it.