Utah has hired a safeties coach, and it’s a familiar face to Ute fans.
With Morgan Scalley becoming Utah’s head coach, someone new will coach the team’s safeties for the first time since 2008, when Scalley took charge of the position room.
Derrick Odum, who played defensive back at Utah from 1989-92, will coach the team’s safeties.
“Derrick is a Utah Man that is one of the best teachers and evaluators I have been around,” Scalley said in a statement. “He has a proven track record of developing some of the best defensive backs in the country and brings a wealth of knowledge from having coordinated defense for the past nine years. We are excited to bring him home!”
Odum brings nearly three decades of coaching experience to Salt Lake City. Most recently, he was the defensive coordinator at San Jose State, a position that he held for nine years before being fired this year.
At San Jose State — a tough place to win — Odum’s defenses ranked within the top 30 nationally twice. He also had two Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year winners in his tenure — defensive end Cade Hall (2020) and defensive tackle Viliami Fehoko (2022).
However, the Spartans went 3-9 this year with a defense that allowed 32.5 points per game, leading to head coach Ken Niumatalolo letting Odum go.
Odum got his start in the coaching world as a graduate assistant at Utah in 1996, and later returned to the school from 2005-07 as the school’s safeties coach. Over that time period, Odum coached safety Eric Weddle, who went on to enjoy a lengthy NFL career that featured two first-team All-Pro seasons and six Pro Bowl appearances.
“I’m really excited for the opportunity to return home where it all started for me and be a part of Coach Scalley’s inaugural staff,” Odum said in a statement “The culture here for winning has been long established and I’m looking forward to doing my part in contributing to the program’s future success. Whether in the classroom or on the field these men exemplify greatness. A Utah Man Am I! Go Utes!”