He led the Cardinals to their first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history during the 2008 season, as well as their first home playoff games in 60 years.

Prior to and after his tenures as head coach of the Cardinals and Titans, Whisenhunt served as an offensive coordinator to various NFL teams.

He enjoyed success he had with the Pittsburgh Steelers in his three years as their offensive coordinator under Bill Cowher and winning Super Bowl XL over the Seattle Seahawks during the 2005 season.

Whisenhunt was a transient in his early years in the league, moving to the staff of the Cleveland Browns in 1999 and to the New York Jets the following season.

He was able to develop players such as Mark Bruener and Jay Riemersma, both considered past their prime, into excellent tight ends.

Whisenhunt took over the role of offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh for the 2004 season after Mike Mularkey became the head coach of the Buffalo Bills.

With Pittsburgh leading 14–10 over the Seattle Seahawks, Whisenhunt called a wide receiver reverse pass (Antwaan Randle El to Hines Ward, the first TD pass thrown by a WR in Super Bowl history) that allowed Pittsburgh to extend the lead over the Seahawks.

On January 14, 2007, the Arizona Cardinals hired Whisenhunt as their new head coach, with a contract to receive an average of $2.5 million annually.

[5] Whisenhunt had also interviewed for the head coaching position with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons, and Miami Dolphins.

[13] In the playoffs, the Cardinals defeated the Green Bay Packers 51–45 in a thrilling overtime victory before losing to the eventual Super Bowl XLIV champion New Orleans Saints 45–14 in the next round.

Instead, Whisenhunt installed free agent pickup Derek Anderson as the starter, made rookie Max Hall the backup, and released Leinart.

[16] In 2011, despite ongoing quarterback issues, Whisenhunt and the team management put together a solid young roster that finished with an 8–8 record.

On November 3, 2015, after starting the season 1–6, the Titans fired Whisenhunt and named Mike Mularkey the interim head coach.

[28] On February 16, 2023, it was reported the Whisenhunt had been hired by Alabama to serve as the special assistant to head coach Nick Saban.

[32] A native of Augusta, Georgia, he worked the 18th-hole manual scoreboard as a teenager at the Masters golf tournament, the PGA’s first major of the year.