The Utah Utes football program has its new offensive coordinator.
On Saturday evening, Utah announced that it has hired veteran OC Kevin McGiven away from Utah State for the position. McGiven replaces Jason Beck, who left Utah to become the offensive coordinator at Michigan under new Wolverines and former Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham.
McGiven, 48, brings plenty of experience to the Utes and new head coach Morgan Scalley. Prior to the 2025 season at Utah State, McGiven had stops at Louisiana Tech, Southern Utah, BYU, Weber State, Memphis, Montana State, Oregon State and San Jose State.
McGiven graduated from Utah’s Mountain View High School. He was praised many times throughout 2025 by Utah State head coach Bronco Mendenhall and quarterback Bryson Barnes (a former Ute) for being an effective coach.
In Saturday’s announcement of the hire, Scalley said, “Kevin is one of the brightest offensive minds in college football. His ability to innovate and adapt to different personnel is extremely impressive and he brings a scheme and mentality that are perfect for the playmakers we have here at Utah.”
In his own statement in the press release, McGiven said, “What an incredible honor for me to be hired as the offensive coordinator at the University of Utah. This is a special place with special people that I’ve always aspired to be.
“I sincerely thank Mark Harlan and Coach Scalley for giving me this opportunity and putting their faith and trust in me to lead our offense. My wife and I are excited to get down there and I look forward to continuing and building upon the success and tradition of Utah football.”
McGiven’s hire came as somewhat of a surprise, as his name had not been widely circulated among potential candidates. Those who had been most widely rumored included BYU’s Aaron Roderick, former Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith and current Arizona State offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo.