The Utah Utes have a new defensive coordinator for the first time since 2016.
With former defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley taking over as head coach, the Ute defense will be run by Colton Swan.
“Colton is the personification of the RSNB culture we’ve established here at Utah and he will thrive in his new role as defensive coordinator,” Scalley said in a press release. “He is as good of a teacher as you will find in the game and his love for his players is unmatched. I’m confident in the continued success of this defense under Coach Swan’s leadership.”
Swan has coached the linebackers at Utah since 2019, and since he took over, the position has been a strength more often than not for the Utes.
Most notably, Swan coached Devin Lloyd, who was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the 27th pick of the 2022 NFL draft. He also developed Francis Bernard, Mohamoud Diabate, Karene Reid and Nephi Sewell, all of whom got a shot in the NFL.
Given that Swan has been a part of Scalley’s defensive staff for seven years, he has immense knowledge of the scheme Utah’s new head coach has run.
Additionally, he has been mentored by Kyle Whittingham, Scalley and Jay Hill, the latter of whom left BYU on Thursday to become Whittingham’s defensive coordinator at Michigan.
“I’m incredibly excited and grateful for the opportunity to lead the Utah defense this upcoming season,” Swan said in a press release.
“As I enter my eighth year alongside Coach Scalley, Utah has truly become home for my family and I’m eager to continue building on the strong culture that has been established here. Our defense will reflect what this program always stood for — smart, tough and relentless football — values instilled over the years by Coach Scalley and Coach Whittingham. We embrace championship expectations in 2026, and I’m looking forward to getting to work with our players.”
Prior to Utah, Swan coached at Weber State for 15 years, with five of those seasons coming under Hill (2014-18).
It’s not Swan’s first rodeo as defensive coordinator. He was co-defensive coordinator with Jake Cookus from 2009-11 while former Ute head coach Ron McBride was at the helm at Weber State.
In 2009, Swan’s and Cookus’ defense allowed 21.7 points per game (best in the nine-team Big Sky) and 375.8 yards per game (third in the Big Sky).
In 2010 and 2011, Weber State allowed 31.1 points (sixth in Big Sky) and 32.2 points (seventh in Big Sky) per game, though the total numbers are skewed a bit from the overmatched Wildcats playing FBS teams in both of those years.
This time around, Swan, who has risen up the coaching ranks over his career, will be the sole defensive coordinator and have much, much better defensive talent than he did in Ogden.
Scalley, and Utah’s players, believe Swan is the right person to take over the defense as the Utes head into the first year of the Scalley era.
“We love Coach Scalley and he brings an energy to this team that is completely different. I’m personally super excited about him being the head coach and coach Swan being the DC. We’re super excited about that,” linebacker Trey Reynolds said on the ESPN 700 postgame show after the Las Vegas Bowl.
With Swan in place, the next move will be to finalize a few positions on his defensive staff.
Utah will need a new defensive ends coach after Lewis Powell left to join Whittingham’s staff at Michigan, and with Scalley taking over as head coach, the Utes will also need a new safeties coach.
Swan will still coach the linebackers, while Luther Elliss (defensive tackles) and Sharieff Shah (cornerbacks/special teams) have remained on Utah’s staff.
