Salt Lake City – University of Utah athletic director Mark Harlan announced that the school has signed Utah football defensive coordinator John to a new employment contract. Morgan Scully Scully will be officially named the football program's next head coach on Nov. 23, 2023. Scully will enter his 17th year on the University of Utah staff under head coach. Kyle Whittingham 2024.
“Coach Whittingham has built Utah football into one of the nation's elite programs through strong culture, tradition and outstanding student-athletes, and he has made clear his intentions to continue leading this great Utah football program as it advances in the Big 12 Conference and the newly expanded College Football Playoff,” Harlan said. “But we must plan for the future, and Coach Whittingham and I strongly believe that future rests on our team. Morgan Scully“Morgan has played a key role in our success by embodying our core values and demonstrating leadership. I have watched him grow up close and personal over the last few years. He is an elite coach, mentored by the best coach ever, Whittingham, and I have no doubt that our program will continue to enjoy success, whenever Morgan takes the reins.”
Whittingham, Utah's winningest head coach of all time, will continue to lead the University of Utah into a new era in his 20th season as head coach. Whittingham's 10 assistant coaches have been with the school an average of 7.4 seasons, longer than any other staff in any major conference, including Scaley's 16-year tenure.
“Morgan Scully “He is an exceptional football coach and his naming as the University of Utah's next head coach is a testament to that,” Whittingham said. “This is an honor earned not only because of his exceptional coaching abilities but also his dedication to the program and the Utah Athletics family. The culture and traditions of Utah football are a source of pride for our staff and I am confident that when the time comes for a transition in leadership of the program, Morgan will carry on that tradition the Utah football way.”
Scalley, a former Utah All-American safety, will enter his ninth season as defensive coordinator in 2024 and has been involved in coaching safeties since joining the staff full-time in 2008. He began his coaching career as an administrative assistant at the University of Utah in 2006 and served as Utah's recruiting coordinator from 2009-2015 and special teams coordinator in 2015.
“Utah football and Utah athletics have always felt like home to me and my family, and I am honored to receive this honor,” said Scalley. “I would like to thank Chancellor Randall, Coach Whittingham and Mark Harlan for their confidence in me. I look forward to continuing to grow as a coach, a person and as a member of the great Utah community. The entire staff is excited to begin a new era for Utah football in the Big 12 this fall under Coach Whittingham's leadership and continue the traditions that have become part of our proud history.”
Known as one of the brightest defensive minds in the business, Scalley has led Utah to the top half of the Pac-12 in total defense seven times, ranking second nationally and first in the league in 2019. He has led the Pac-12's top rushing defense five times in the past eight years, ranking in the top five nationally in 2018, 2019 and 2023. Utah has led the conference in sacks and tackles for loss three times under Scalley, most recently leading the conference two years in a row (2021, 2022). The team finished the 2018 season ranked 11th nationally and first in the Pac-12 in sacks.
Scully has personally coached 13 All-Americans (four of which were unanimous or unanimous), 19 first-team all-conference players and five freshman All-Americans, and has seen 29 of his students go on to the NFL, including the school's highest draft pick in 2022, linebacker Devin Lloyd (first round, 27th overall).
A native of Salt Lake City, Utah, he was a letterman at the University of Utah from 2001-04, where he was named Mountain West Co-Defensive Player of the Year, a second-team All-American (Associated Press, Sports Illustrated) and a unanimous first-team all-conference safety in 2004. He was named second-team All-MWC as a defensive back in 2003 and was named All-MWC honorable mention as a punt returner in 2001 and 2002.
As a senior, he captained the University of Utah to a 12-0 record and a national ranking of No. 4 in a historic season that included a win over the University of Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl and becoming the first non-BCS team to appear in a BCS bowl game.
The two-time first team Academic All-American was the recipient of the inaugural Pat Tillman Award for character, intellect, sportsmanship and service at the East-West Shrine Game in 2005. He graduated cum laude from the University of Utah in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in mass communications and earned a master's in business administration from the same university in 2006.
