SALT LAKE CITY — Morgan Scalley’s promotion from defensive coordinator to head coach of the University of Utah football program was announced Saturday.
The 46-year-old Salt Lake City native and former Utah defensive back succeeds Kyle Whittingham, 66, who announced Friday he would step down after 21 seasons in charge of the Utes and a decade before that on staff as an assistant.
Scalley will officially take over after No. 15 Utah (10-2) plays Nebraska (7-5) in the Las Vegas Bowl on New Year’s Eve. He has been the defensive coordinator under Whittingham for 10 seasons and has been a part of the coaching staff since 2007. Saturday’s promotion was an expected move, with Scalley having been designated the program’s head coach in waiting in recent seasons.
Utah ranks in the top 20 nationally this season in passing efficiency defense, total interceptions (14) and scoring defense, with the Utes having allowed an average of 18.7 points per game.
“Being a part of the Utah football program was a childhood dream of mine that has turned into an incredible 25-year journey that I am blessed to say is continuing,” Scalley said in a release. “I have been mentored by some of the best men and coaches I could have ever asked for along the way and learned infinitely more than just X’s and O’s from them. I have also had the privilege of learning from and growing together with the amazing young men that have come through this program.”