Urban Meyer shares one concern he has for Kyle Whittingham at Michigan

The Michigan Wolverines have hit the reset button. Now, with Kyle Whittingham in place as head coach, they’re looking ahead at what could be a very exciting future.

Across the country, the Whittingham hire was widely seen as a strong hire. Certainly, Urban Meyer was among them, having worked with Whittingham in the past. Still, as he recently shared on The Triple Option, he does have one major concern. Whittingham is so tied to Utah, how does he handle a new job?

“My only concern is Kyle has been at one spot for 30 years,” Urban Meyer said. “He played at BYU. The only time he was out of the state of Utah was a couple of years at Idaho State. Coached for [Ron] McBride, coached for me, and then he became a head coach for a long time.”

Kyle Whittingham is Utah through and through. After going to high school in Provo, he would play for BYU. That’s also where he began his coaching career, and by 1994, he was an assistant coach for the Utes, becoming the head coach there in 2005.

Things will be different at Michigan, though. In particular, Meyer is concerned about how Whittingham is going to handle the newfound media scrutiny that comes with this kind of job.

“The media scrutiny is nothing compared to what he’s getting ready to get hit in the face with now. Especially, back in the day. Kyle brought Utah from the Mountain West to the Pac-12 to the Big 12. So, it became a little bit more pressing,” Meyer said. “But this one, this is one of the top five jobs out there. The scrutiny — no one really, I can’t remember where the media just jumps right over recruiting and all that. In Ann Arbor now, it’s every day. So, everything is going to be evaluated. Everything is going to be scrutinized and I think that’s going to be a little different for Kyle.”

Whittingham finished his time at Utah with a record of 177-88. During that time, he won three conference championships, and finished in the AP Top 25 nine different times. In the process, he made Utah one of the most well-respected teams in the country. At Michigan, however, there are national championship expectations.

One new challenge for Whittingham and Meyer alike is going to be on opposite sides of The Game. Meyer will remain a former Ohio State coach while Whittingham, his friend and former assistant, is leading Michigan. So, he recently joked about how that will change how he handles rivalry week.

“Yeah, we talk all the time,” Urban Meyer previously said. “I imagine I’ll take a hiatus for that week, as Big Noon and Barstool gets ready for the rivalry game. But, yeah, he’s one of my closest friends.”