Calling plays in the Holiday Bowl, Mick McCall will conclude his 11th season as Northwestern's offensive coordinator.
McCall’s tenure is by far the biggest distinction between the Utah and Northwestern football programs. Yet even that contrast creates another common thread for Ute coach Kyle Whittingham and the Wildcats' Pat Fitzgerald. Some percentage of fans on each side will find a flaw in this sentence: Nine play-callers have worked for Utah during McCall’s time at Northwestern, with another Ute hiring or promotion to come after Monday’s game in San Diego.
While the biggest complaint about Whittingham’s era is the turnover of his offensive coordinators, Fitzgerald gets questioned why he has held onto McCall (defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz also is in his 11th season, with more favorable reviews).