SAN DIEGO — That holiday feeling has Utah coach Kyle Whittingham full of cheer. Well, sort of. He exuded a lot of humor in Sunday's Holiday Bowl press conference with Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald.
Whittingham's first zinger came early after thanking bowl officials, athletic director Mark Harlan and university President Ruth Watkins for making the trip a great experience.
"(They) really rolled out all the red carpets to the families, virtually everyone in our program," Whittingham said. "All our wives, everybody was able to bring all our wives, not just one. So that was a positive."
Whittingham added: "We're from Utah" as the media laughed.
A few minutes later, Whittingham was asked about his previous Holiday Bowl experiences — back in the day when he played for BYU.
"Can't talk about all of it," he quipped.
ABOUT HUNTLEY: As expected, Whittingham was asked about the status of quarterback Tyler Huntley. The junior hasn't played since breaking his collarbone in a 38-20 loss at Arizona State on Nov. 3.
"He looks great. He's doing a great job. Still unknown really, unknown about tomorrow," Whittingham said. "He's practiced, ready to go. If he's allowed to go, he's ready to go. But that's really, by all definitions, a game-time decision."
GREEN BAY BOUND?: Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald was asked about rumors that he might be the next coach of the Green Bay Packers.
"About me?" Fitzgerald said. "Really? Sure it's not Kyle?"
Fitzgerald then noted that the speculation began several weeks ago
"I'll reiterate my stance what I said to (that reporter) a month ago," he said. "I don't talk about rumors."
COACHING SEARCH: Although Sione Po'uha was hired away from Navy to offset the loss of Gary Andersen to Utah State, Whittingham has yet to fill vacancies created by the departures of offensive coordinator Troy Taylor (Sacramento State) and linebackers coach Justin Ena (USU).
Whittingham said he's in no hurry to find replacements, explaining that it is more important to get the right guy over timing.
"I'm thoroughly thinking it through, mulling it over," he noted. "That's what I do pretty much 24/7 is go through scenarios, what the best move is going to be."
Because of bowl prep and recruiting, Whittingham added that he hasn't done much interviewing.
"That will be job one when we get back to Salt Lake City, jump into that process —ideally get it wrapped up in the next week, 10 days, two weeks tops," Whittingham said. "If we don't find the right guy by then, maybe it goes longer. It's a priority for us right now."
from Deseret News http://bit.ly/2SuS3Tq
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