OC Beck

I haven’t made any predictions about this year’s offense. I have no idea what will happen.

As for your question about Whitt firing Ludwig, I’ve heard on Utehub that he was let go because his offense was too intricate to teach in today’s transfer-happy/NIL era. Ludwig was also likely responsible for relying exclusively on the health of Rising the last couple of years. Whitt was obviously very frustrated with that whole situation, and I would bet it was Ludwig’s idea to stick with Rising the last two years (no inside info, just gathering from context). The lack of a viable backup, which was Ludwig’s responsibility, is also a major reason he was likely let go.

As to your next question about the team being good because of the player or the coach, I’d say it has to be both. Whitt is a good enough coach that we will never be a bad team under him. Even when we were playing with half a team the last two years we were competitive. Whitt’s consistency plus some NFL level talent on offense means we will be very good.

Personally, I think this fanbase’s recent criticism of Whitt is bulls**t. I’m not saying he shouldn’t be criticized, but the extent of it is far beyond what is deserved, and usually not based in reality.

– Fans are bugged that Whitt keeps things from them: This criticism is perhaps the most ridiculous of all. The ONLY reason any of this has become an issue is because fans won’t shut up about it. I spoke with Whitt in 2010 at a charity event. Unprompted, he told me that his least favorite thing about being a coach was rubbing elbows with fans. He just wants to focus on football and his players. That is not a bad thing. That is a good thing. The only downside is fans get restless when things aren’t going great, and it creates a lot of noise. Make no mistake, that noise is created by fan entitlement (not saying that is right or wrong).

– Whitt doesn’t give his OCs freedom: Again, there may be some truth to this in some situations, but this is largely bulls**t. Whitt wants to win. That is what he cares about. He knows how to win. He knows what the numbers say, and he generally sticks with that. When we have a QB who throws three picks to the same mfing player in one very important game, Whitt tells the OC to call plays that limit turnovers because our defense is good enough to win most games for us as long as we don’t turn the ball over. That isn’t bad coaching. When we have an offense that runs at a VERY high level with the right players, Whitt lets the offense do its thing because that is the best way to win games.

The real criticism of Whitt regarding the offense over the years should be his horrible track record in hiring offensive coordinators. So far, he’s only hired the right guy twice (if you count Ludwig once anyway). Chow was good, but he left voluntarily. Ludwig was good until CFB changed in a way that made him obsolete. The others were either not ready or just plain not good. I have yet to see any proof that their lack of success was Whitt being overly controlling. I think it has far more to do with them simply not being the right hire, and us not having the right players in place for them to succeed.

Hopefully, Beck is the right guy for the job.

Maybe I’m wrong about all of this, I don’t really care. I don’t have inside information. I know Whitt, he knows me, but I have never once brought up Utah football around him. My opinions are based on what I’ve seen, and no more.