News Flash: Whittingham shakes up approach
By Tom Dienhart, Yahoo! Sports Nov 4, 1:34 pm EST
For last week’s 22-10 win against Wyoming, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham moved offensive coordinator Dave Schramm to the sidelines and slotted receivers coach Aaron Roderick in the press box to call plays. The move worked to help stimulate a sputtering attack for the 7-1 Utes.
“We made two significant changes,” Whittingham told reporters. “The first was the coaches on the press box and field. Dave Schramm is fiery and intense, and to have him on the field is a benefit. We are comfortable with Aaron Roderick upstairs.
“There is a great deal of collaboration and cooperation among our staff. We want to find the best situation for our team and we wanted to look at that – it worked out well.”
The Utes’ offense ranks No. 3 in the Mountain West, but Whittingham still thought the attack needed to be shaken up. Utah is 4-0 in league play with a chance to win the conference crown. On Nov. 14, the Utes have a huge showdown at TCU.
“There are some differences between the two coaches,” Whittingham said. “One game doesn’t give you an opportunity to see the difference, but you will be able to compare after a few games. Everyone works different. Tendencies we have built up are obsolete, so in a small way that is a benefit.
“I believe the time to make change is when you need to, not necessarily when thing aren’t going well and you are in panic mode. We are trying to get better. We would like to blow people out, but that’s not happening. We are trying to find the right combination.”
In the Wyoming game, Utah also changed quarterbacks, replacing junior college transfer Terrance Cain with true freshman Jordan Wynn. Whittingham won’t say who will start this weekend against New Mexico.
“On the quarterback change, we have been trying for seven weeks to find a situation to put Jordan in and this arose and we took advantage of it,” Whittingham said.
Who’ll follow Andrews?
With Mickey Andrews formerly announcing his retirement after the 2009 season as Florida State defensive coordinator, the search is on for a replacement.
Some feel head coach in-waiting Jimbo Fisher may make a run at West Virginia defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel, who has been in Morgantown since 2001. He runs a 3-3-5 stack defense that goes against the norm at Florida State, which traditionally has run a 4-3 set. But it’s getting more and more difficult to recruit standpoint defensive linemen, making the defense attractive.
Casteel’s defenses have been underrated. He had the No. 1 red-zone defense in the nation last year and No. 11 scoring defense. His 2007 defense ranked in the top 30 in eight categories. Casteel’s 2005 defense was No. 15 in the nation.
UNLV AD search
UNLV had planned to wait until the end of the football season to find a permanent athletic director. But the school now is speeding up the search, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
UNLV athletic director Mike Hamrick left in August to become AD at Marshall. Jerry Koloskie is filling the post on an interim basis.
Some feel the new timetable is a signal that Rebels coach Mike Sanford’s job status is tenuous. He entered his fifth season at UNLV with an 11-36 record. The Rebels are 3-6 overall this year and 1-4 in the Mountain West.
