Giving a Whit about Florida

With Urban Meyer resigning at Florida, a natural tie-in is whether the Gators will go after Utah’s Kyle Whittingham.

As always in these matters, it partially depends on how many others turn down the job. Whittingham wasn’t the first choice at Tennessee, but eventually the job became his to turn down.

That’s not to say Whittingham wouldn’t be a strong candidate. I’m sure he’s on the list. He’s had wonderful success. Florida’s president, Bernie Machen, used to be Utah’s president. He’s the one who hired Meyer.

Mainly, though, Whittingham wouldn’t be the top candidate, in my mind, due to politics. I’m not sure Gator Nation would be enamored by Machen going to the same school twice for its head coach. Florida can hire the head coach of almost any university in America, as well as some former pro coaches. It has better resources, more money and more talent than almost anyone else. I can’t remember any school that hired back-to-back coaches from the same school. I don’t think it will start here.

If several coaches turned down the job, Florida might then go back to Whit. And he might be tempted, though he seems happy enough here. He’s already set to be in the Pac-12, so the appeal of being in an automatic qualifying conference shouldn’t be as interesting to him.

From where I’m sitting, Whit isn’t likely to be at Florida next year.