It's been an unofficial plan for a while, but now it's official.
University of Utah defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley will become the school's new head coach following the retirement of Kyle Whittingham, athletic director Mark Harlan announced Monday morning.
“Coach Whittingham has built Utah football into one of the nation's elite programs through strong culture, tradition and outstanding student-athletes, and has made it clear his intentions to continue leading this great Utah football program as we advance in the Big 12 Conference and into the newly expanded College Football Playoff,” Harlan said in a statement.
“However, we must plan for the future, and Coach Whittingham and I strongly believe that future lies in Morgan Scalley. Morgan has played a key role in our success by embodying our core values and demonstrating leadership, and I have watched him grow up close and personal over the last few years. He is an elite coach mentored by the best coach, Coach Whittingham, and I have no doubt that our program will continue to enjoy success, whenever Morgan takes the reins.”
Scully's new $2 million contract with the university means the longtime Utah assistant will once again have the title of “incoming head coach,” a title that was revoked in 2020 after an outside investigation found Scully “inadvertently sent a racial slur to a freshman during a text message exchange with another coach in 2013.”
When Whittingham retires and Scully takes over as Utah's head coach, his annual base salary will increase to $5 million, the same as Whittingham's base salary this year. Whittingham's most recent public contract amendment, signed in 2022, will pay him $5 million in salary and bonuses in 2024.
Scalley, who played safety at Utah from 2001-04 and was captain of the team's undefeated team in 2004, has coached under Coach Whittingham for nearly two decades, beginning his coaching career as an administrative assistant before being promoted to safeties coach in 2008, the year Utah had its next undefeated season.
In 2016, Scully was promoted to defensive coordinator and safeties coach, replacing the retired John Pees. Utah's defense has consistently performed well under Scully's direction, with Utah being the Pac-12 Conference's best rushing defense in five of the last eight years. In 2019, Utah was second nationally in yards allowed and led the Pac-12 Conference in sacks and tackles for loss three times.
“Utah football and sports have always felt like home to me and my family, and I am honored to receive this honor,” Scaley said in a statement.
“I want to thank Chancellor Randall, Coach Whittingham and Mark Harlan for the trust they have shown in me. I will strive to continue to grow as a coach, a person and as a member of the great University of Utah community. Our staff, under the direction of Coach Whittingham, is excited to begin a new era of Utah football in the Big 12 this fall and continue the traditions that have become part of our proud history.”
Why Utah announced its succession plan
According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, Scully's new contract includes a pay raise that makes him one of the highest-paid coordinators in sports and reinstates his title as the “next head coach.” The deal was signed seven months ago, on Nov. 23, 2023.
This is a big day, as Utah and Scalley agreed to a new contract just weeks after USC fired defensive coordinator Alex Grinch. Per reporting by Thamel and Steve Bartle of 247Sports, the Trojans tried to hire Scalley for the same position in Los Angeles, but the longtime Utah standout stayed in Salt Lake City.
Whittingham, 64, signed a contract extension that runs through the 2027 season but has not announced a retirement date, and likely will not make one public.
Recently, he led the University of Utah to new heights as a program, winning back-to-back Pac-12 championships in 2021 and 2022. Even with the change of joining a new conference, the Big 12, after more than a decade in the Pac-12, he's not showing any signs of slowing down yet.
“I'm full of energy right now,” he told Doug Robinson of the Deseret News in January. “I'm really excited about the job. As far as getting up in the morning and being excited about it … we're going to the Big 12. It's a new challenge.”
Whittingham, who will be the fourth-oldest active FBS head coach entering 2024, is still in top form, but everyone eventually retires and publicly naming a successor would give the team clarity on its direction, which is especially important in recruiting, providing stability and silencing any negative solicitations from other teams about Whittingham's retirement.
It will be tough for anyone to succeed Whittingham, who as head coach led Utah to an undefeated season after two conference changes, a Sugar Bowl win over Alabama in 2008 and consecutive Pac-12 championships and consistent top-25 finishes.
Harlan and Whittingham believe Scalley, who learned from Whittingham for more than 20 years as a player and coach, is the best choice to not only retain much of Utah's current staff, but also to continue Utah's success and culture.
“Morgan Scalley is an exceptional football coach and his naming as the University of Utah's next head coach is proof of that,” Whittingham said in a statement.
“This is an honor he has earned not only for his outstanding coaching abilities but also his dedication to the program and the Utah State sports family. The culture and traditions of Utah State football are a source of pride for our staff, and we are confident that when the time comes for a leadership transition in the program, Morgan will carry on that tradition the Utah State football way.”
