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How Close Was Florida To Hiring Kyle Whittingham?

By now mostly everyone has heard the news, Florida hired Texas Defensive Coordinator Will Muschamp, ending rumors of Florida poaching another Utah coach in Kyle Whittingham.

But how close was Utah to losing Whittingham?

According to a report by Brian Edwards of VegasInsider.com, Florida AD Jeremy Foley contacted Kyle Whittingham and had arrangements to meet him.

According to a VegasInsider.com source, Florida AD Jeremy Foley reached out to Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham on Friday night. They had a 30-minute phone conversation and agreed to meet in-person either Sunday or Monday.

Edwards thinks that the trip to Utah would have given Foley the flexibility to make a trip to Boise for Chris Petersen or Palo Alto for Jim Harbaugh if needed.

This is just one of many rumors that were going around the internet.  Other rumors were that Bob Stoops was offered the job Friday night and was given until Monday to decide.  Stoops then denied having any talks with Florida and Gator insider Pat Dooley said he has sources telling him that Foley never contacted Stoops or anyone else. 

Did Kyle Whittingham turn down the Gators?  Or was he just a candidate that Foley was interested in?

We may never know, but with Florida's hiring of Muschamp, Utah may have dodged a bullet.