Ken Whisenhunt, who was an analyst for Penn State the past two seasons, has left Penn State to take a job with Nick Saban at Alabama.
Former NFL head coach Ken Whisenhunt joins Alabama staff. https://t.co/ODpUPsutgx
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) February 16, 2023
Whisenhunt’s title is special assistant to the head coach.
ESPN.com’s Adam Rittenberg reported that Whisenhunt’s name had been added to Alabama’s staff directory Wednesday.
Whisenhunt is best known for his time in the NFL.
He was a head coach in the league for roughly seven and a half seasons, six of which with the Arizona Cardinals.
Whisenhunt ended his time in Arizona with a 45-51 record. His tenure was highlighted by a Super Bowl appearance in the 2008 season. Whisenhunt and the Cardinals almost won it all, but Santonio Holmes’s legendary touchdown catch in the game’s final minute gave Whisenhunt’s old employer, the Pittsburgh Steelers, a sixth Super Bowl. Three years prior, Whisenhunt helped the Steelers win their fifth championship. He was Pittsburgh’s offensive coordinator from 2004-06. Whisenhunt was on Bill Cowher’s staff for three seasons prior to being promoted, coaching the tight ends from 2001-03.
After the Cardinals fired him following the 2012 season, Whisenhunt spent the 2013 season as the Chargers’ offensive coordinator. After that, Whisenhunt’s second NFL head coaching stop came with the Tennessee Titans, and it was ugly.
Whisenhunt and the Titans went 2-14 in 2014, and after starting 1-6 the next season, Ken Whisenhunt was fired. He then moved back to California and returned to being an offensive coordinator, running the unit for the Chargers once again. Whisenhunt’s tenure lasted from 2016 through the first eight games of the 2019 season, where he was again fired in the middle of the year. He started working with Penn State before the 2021 season.
Back in December, Penn State lost another offensive analyst with a name familiar to NFL fans.
Former Cleveland Brown QB Charlie Frye departed after a season, taking the offensive coordinator job at Florida Atlantic.
