PROVO — From head coach to equipment manager to occasional garbage man, Cary Whittingham is a bit of a Renaissance man for Timpview’s football program.
Maybe someday he’ll land an assistant coach who’s also a Timpview teacher, but for the time being he’s the lone wolf in the building, with all the coaching administrative duties falling solely on his shoulders. Whittingham shrugs off the extra responsibility, knowing it’s a small price to pay for such an awesome staff.
Most head coaches rave about the work their assistants put in, and Whittingham is no different. All played in high school, four played in college, and collectively they bring continuity, dependability and a wealth of experience that Timpview’s players benefit from every day.
And they all do it because they love football and want to give back.
Former BYU football player Ryan Denney, who spent nine years in the NFL, has been on staff for two years as the special teams coach but day in and day out also offers unique insights into the defensive line schemes.
Denney always figured he’d want to give coaching a try when he retired after eight seasons with the Buffalo Bills and one with the Houston Texans, and Timpview’s been the perfect gig for him to explore that aspect of the sport he loves.
“When you play high school, college and then pro for nine years, you build up quite a book of knowledge as far as football. It’s really not very valuable unless you pass some of that on,” said Denney.
He admits he was a bit timid his first year as a volunteer assistant, but this year he’s been much more hands on knowing what to expect.
During his two years working closely with Whittingham, defensive coordinator Todd Cusick and offensive coordinator Chad Van Orden, Denney is continually impressed by the entire staff’s motivation.
“It’s very unique. Everybody seems to be coaching for the right reasons, to share what they know about football, to help the boys, to help the program,” said Denney. “It takes a lot of dedication to set apart that much time each week and go out there and coach these young men.”
Almost all are volunteers, something defensive line coach Taz Murray says is a positive, not a negative.
“You want volunteers in any public school, you want them in the classroom, on the field. That people are willing to volunteer is great, and I think it’s great the school district encourages volunteers,” said Murray.
Murray, like several other assistant coaches, was on staff while Louis Wong was the head coach from 2005 to 2011, and Whittingham believes that continuity is a huge part of Timpview’s success.
“A lot of them have been around for a while, and the system’s been in place for a while and there’s continuity with that, which is great,” said Whittingham. “Not having that turnover, they know the kids when they're young as freshmen all the way through, so that helps the kids feel more comfortable and gravitate to guys who are here when they got here and were still here when they left.”
There will inevitably be some coaching turnover each year, but the coaching core at Timpview has been strong for years, and that’s helped Whittingham win state championships his first two years as head coach and has him one victory away from a third this Friday at Rice-Eccles Stadium.