Utah defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley has been named head coach in waiting and will take over for Kyle Whittingham once the longtime Utes coach steps away from the program, the program announced Monday. There is no set timetable for the 64-year old Whittingham, who has been with the Utes as both an assistant and head coach since 1994.
“Morgan Scalley is an exceptional football coach and his naming as the head coach in waiting at the University of Utah is a testament to that,” Whittingham said in a statement. “It is a distinction he has earned not only because of his outstanding coaching abilities, but also because of his selfless dedication to the program as well as to the Utah Athletics family. The culture and tradition within Utah Football is a point of pride for our staff, and when the time comes for a transition in the leadership of our program, we know that Morgan will carry on those traditions the Utah Football way.”
Scalley, who played defensive back under Whittingham from 2001-04, has been on Utah’s staff in some form or another since 2007. He started out as a graduate assistant with the Utes before earning a job coaching safeties. He added recruiting coordinator to his list of responsibilities in 2009, started coaching special teams in 2015 and was named defensive coordinator in 2016 when John Pease retired.
He was a finalist for the 2019 Broyles Award, given annually to the top assistant coach in college football, after Utah boasted the nation’s top run defense. The Utes also finished second nationally and led the Pac-12 in total defense.
Scalley’s career off the field at Utah actually began in 2006 when he was an administrative assistant in the athletics department. As a defensive back for the Utes, Scalley was the 2004 Mountain West Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Year and a second-team All-American.
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