Whittingham glad to be back in the 'clover'

Kyle Whittingham was back at his day job on Thursday morning. You know, his outdoor gig. The one where he wears a visor and cross-trainers to work.

You could tell he was loving it. There he was, standing in the middle of the grass at the Ute practice field, happy as a cow in clover. It was time to rock and roll. No more fluff stuff.

What, no more celebrity talk circuit? No more sit-down-interview this and studio-makeup that? Perhaps that's too much to ask. There will always be the media, unless the horrible alternative occurs — no interest whatsoever. The good news for Whittingham is that at least now he can incorporate actual football.

"I can't tell you how good it is to be back on the field," said Whittingham. "In some ways, it seems like we just played the Sugar Bowl. In other ways, it seems like it's been years since we lined up and played."

Though Whittingham's busy off-season is over, Utah's opening practice brought a new wave of problems. A local media contingent — one offensive lineman Zane Beadles termed "the biggest I've ever seen on the first day of practice" — was there to record the moment. The first session started and ended with "Sweet Home Alabama" blaring from the loudspeakers — a not-so-subtle reference to Utah's rout of the Crimson Tide in last January's Sugar Bowl.

But the nice part, for Whittingham, was what happened between the first strains of Lynyrd Skynyrd's rockabilly classic and the media obligations: the coaching.

"I'd rather be a coach," he said. "All things said and done, I'd rather be a coach."

Being nothing but a coach isn't all that easy — or realistic — these days. When you make $1.2 million a year, there are obligations. Thursday alone, Whittingham had Fox News national radio and College Football Live requests, as well as local newspaper, radio, TV and Internet commitments. In the offseason, he allotted an hour a day for media interviews and filled every minute.

This, of course, could have been avoided if Whittingham had been wily enough to lower the bar after he took over for Urban Meyer in 2005. But noooooo. He had to get chippy. Had to build his own program. Look where it got him. Every time he looks around, someone's saying, "Coach, got a minute?"

Actually, no.

"He hates that stuff," said offensive lineman Zane Beadles. "He loves being out on the field."