Philip Todd Whitten (born February 16, 1965) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach and former player. He is the head football coach at

Tarleton State University Tarleton State University is a Public university, public research university in Stephenville, Texas, United States. It is a founding member of the Texas A&M University System and enrolled over 15,000 students in the fall of 2022. It is Carnegie C ...

, a position he held in 1996, from 2000 to 2004, and resumed before the 2016 season. Whitten was head football coach at

Sam Houston State University Sam Houston State University (Sam Houston, SHSU or Sam) is a public research university in Huntsville, Texas, United States. Founded in 1879, it is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools wes ...

from 2005 to 2009.

Playing career

A native of

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, Whitten attended Justin F. Kimball High School. In 1982, he guided the school to a district championship. Whitten chose to attend Stephen F. Austin University, where he was a three-year starter in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

from 1984 to 1986. Whitten earned All-Gulf Star Conference as

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the Jacks. He ranks second in SFA career passing yards (6,304) and touchdown passes (60). He was drafted in baseball by the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

in 1983 and signed a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

contract with the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

in 1987. He received his bachelor's degree in education from Stephen F. Austin in 1987 and his master’s in education from

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship institution of the five- ...

in 1990. Whitten was inducted into the SFA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001.

Coaching career

Following his one-year stint with the Patriots, Whitten began his coaching career as a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research resp ...

coach at Texas Tech, working with the quarterbacks during the

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

and 1989 seasons. He then became quarterbacks coach at

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution of higher education, and was the original land-g ...

under head coach Jim Hess. In 1994, Whitten was hired by Charlie Bailey to coach the running backs at

UTEP The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas, United States. Founded in 1913 as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy, it is the third oldest academic component of the University of Texas Syste ...

. In 1996, Whitten got his first head coaching job as he took over at

. After a turn-around season that earned him

Lone Star Conference The Lone Star Conference (LSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the South Central states, with schools in Texas ...

Coach of the Year honors, Whitten left to become

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

for head coach

Dana Dimel Dana August Dimel (October 9, 1962 – December 3, 2024) was an American college football coach and player. He served as the head football coach of the University of Wyoming from 1997 to 1999, the University of Houston from 2000 to 2002, and the ...

at the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...

. In 1999, he became offensive coordinator at Sam Houston State, before leaving again for Tarleton State. Between 2000 and 2004, Whitten coached Tarleton State to a 45–23 overall record, including a Lone Star Conference championship in 2001; and 2002, 2003 North Division championships. While at Tarleton, Whitten garnered Coach of the Year honors four times, as well as in 2001 being named d2football.com West Region Coach of the Year. In addition he set 30 school records, coached 13 All-Americans, 80 all-conference players, and led the Texans to their first ever playoff appearances in 2001 and 2003. Whitten is the winningest coach in the school's senior college era. In 2005, he accepted an offer by Sam Houston State to succeed longtime coach

Ron Randleman Ron Randleman (born December 17, 1941) is a former American football coach. He served as head coach at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas from 1982 to 2004. Randleman retired after the 2004 season as the winningest head coach in t ...

. While at Sam Houston, Whitten produced the school's first back to back 1,000 yards rusher in 2006 and 2007, finished the 2008 season ranked sixth nationally in total offense, directed the University's all-time leader in both passing and total offense ( Rhett Bomar), coached eight All-Americans and 63 all-conference players. Whitten coached SHSU to a 25–28 record in five seasons. Whitten was hired on March 15, 2010, as the offensive coordinator for Division I Lamar University. In the Cardinal's first season in twenty-one years, Whitten coached the school's first back to back 400 yard passer, and helped lead Lamar to an overall record of 5–6. In the Cardinal's second year under Whitten, school records were set in team passing yards, individual total offense in a game, individual passing yards in a game, completions in a game, and individual receiving yards in game. In 2012, Whitten served as the head football coach at

Arlington Heights High School Arlington Heights High School (AHHS, Heights) is a secondary school located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. The school serves grades 9 through 12, and is a part of the Fort Worth Independent School District. Its mascot is the Yellow Jacket ...

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

. He left the school after one season to become the wide receivers coach at the University of Texas at El Paso. Whitten was named head football coach at Tarleton State for the third time, on December 3, 2015 by

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches a ...

Lonn Reisman Lonn Eugene Reisman (born December 23, 1954) retired as director of athletics for Tarleton State University on May 31, 2024. He served as men's basketball coach at Tarleton State from 1988 to 2018. Early life and education Reisman was born in Cu ...

. In 2020, Tarleton State moved from Division II to

Division I FCS The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Sponsored by the National Collegiate ...

. On February 21, 2020, Whitten coached the Texans to its first win as a FCS member against the

New Mexico State Aggies The New Mexico State University teams are called the Aggies, a nickname derived from the university's agricultural beginnings. The mascot is known as " Pistol Pete". NMSU's colors are crimson and white. Since 2023 the Aggies have competed in Co ...

43-17 who is in the FBS.

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

Tarleton State profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitten, Todd 1965 births Living people American football quarterbacks Lamar Cardinals football coaches NFL replacement players New England Patriots players New Mexico State Aggies football coaches Sam Houston Bearkats football coaches Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football players Tarleton State Texans football coaches Texas Tech Red Raiders football coaches Texas Tech University alumni UTEP Miners football coaches Wyoming Cowboys football coaches High school football coaches in Texas Justin F. Kimball High School alumni Coaches of American football from Texas Players of American football from Dallas