As he talked about his family to begin his introductory press conference as Utah’s new football coach, Morgan Scalley started to tear up.
“I’m a baby,” he said. “You’re going to see that today. I’m a baby.”
“But man, our team is going to rip your face off.”
In a nutshell, that sums up Scalley.
He wears his heart on his sleeve much more than his predecessor, Kyle Whittingham, and will certainly be more energetic and animated on the sideline than his mentor.
There will likely be more lightheartedness and fun in the program with Scalley at the helm — both quarterback Devon Dampier and line Lander Barton emphasized fun when talking about Utah’s new head coach — but when it’s time to work or practice, Scalley will be all business.
In a bit of a unique situation, Scalley’s first press conference as Utah’s head coach was in Las Vegas prior to the Utes’ 44-22 bowl victory over Nebraska, which was Scalley’s debut as head coach.
Back in Salt Lake, the introductory press conference — really, Scalley’s third presser as Utah’s coach — served as a canvas for the 24th head coach in program history to articulate his vision for the program.
‘Hair on fire’: Scalley’s first 25 days
It’s been a whirlwind 25 days for Scalley.
Whittingham stepped down on Dec. 12, and Scalley was officially announced as Utah’s head coach on Dec. 13, with the understanding that Whittingham would still coach in the Las Vegas Bowl in his final act at Utah.
On Dec. 26, Whittingham was officially hired at Michigan, inking a five-year deal, and informed Utah he would start at his new job immediately.
That meant that Scalley, who was set to take over the program following the Dec. 31 bowl game, began his coaching duties right away. Utah blew out Nebraska to start Scalley’s coaching career with a win, but almost immediately afterward, it was back to business.
Utah’s head-coach-in-waiting plan was designed to ensure a smooth transition from Whittingham to Scalley, but the actual passing of the torch was anything but that.
On New Year’s Day, six assistant coaches — offensive coordinator Jason Beck, offensive line coach Jim Harding, tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham, receivers coach Micah Simon, quarterbacks coach Koy Detmer Jr. and defensive ends coach Lewis Powell — left Utah to join Whittingham’s staff at Michigan.
The next day, the transfer portal opened.
Scalley was left to fill quite a few coaching vacancies while also selling Utah’s players on why they should remain in Salt Lake City, plus scouting the transfer portal for potential additions to the roster.
“Man, I feel like it’s my first birth and I gave twins. It’s crazy. Just running around. And I’m a twin and my mom had twins late, the last two, so she’s told me all about it,” Scalley said. “Mostly hair on fire. That’s why you get no prepared speech.”
Scalley started to stem the bleeding after Whittingham’s departure to Michigan. He hired six assistant coaches — offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven, tight ends coach Luke Wells, wide receivers coach Chad Bumphis, offensive line coach Jordan Gross, defensive ends coach Inoke Breckterfield and safeties coach Derrick Odum.
He promoted linebackers coach Colton Swan to defensive coordinator and retained running backs coach Mark Atuaia, defensive tackles coach Luther Elliss and cornerbacks/special teams coach Sharrieff Shah.
While the transfer portal still being open for 10 more days means more Utah players could enter before the deadline, Utah has been able to retain some important pieces, including five-star offensive tackle Kelvin Obot and four-star athlete Salesi Moa, according to a report from KSL Sports’ Steve Bartle.
Four Utah starters — cornerback Smith Snowden, defensive tackle Dallas Vakalahi, safety Tao Johnson and defensive end John Henry Daley — have entered the transfer portal so far. The talent Utah is losing is not insignificant, but questions remain on whether Daley will be able to play next year after suffering a late season-ending injury.
While assistant coaches and coordinators following a coach to a new job is common in college football, Whittingham taking a large part of his staff caused some Utah fans to sour on the longtime coach.
For his part, Scalley has been nothing but praiseworthy of Whittingham.
“Kyle Whittingham has given me chance after chance after chance for my entire career,” Scalley said, choking up.
“I love Kyle Whittingham and I know he’s going to be successful wherever he goes. I know he’s in Michigan. He’s going to be amazing. I’m grateful for the chances he’s taken on me from mentoring me, tutoring me, breathing life into me when I didn’t necessarily love football and I was asked to change positions.”
As Scalley takes over for his former coach, mentor and boss, Whittingham’s fingerprints are still going to be all over the program.
“Toughness, it’s going to be exposed sooner or later, right? Depending on the quality of opponent, you will be exposed or you’ll be up for the challenge. No. 2, family. That establishment of family and culture and togetherness, and we’re doing this together, that is going to obviously carry on,” Scalley said.
But make no mistake about it, this is Scalley’s program, and he’s going to put his own spin on things.
Faith, family and football
During his rousing, off-the-cuff speech, Scalley drew cheers from Utah fans and donors at Rice-Eccles Stadium time and time again.
He started by sharing his family history and how it intertwined with Utah football, from his dad, Bud, playing for Ray Nagel, to a young Scalley himself running around Rice Stadium in the Jim Fassel days.
“I’m one of you. All of you that are sitting in here that went through the same thing, I’m a fan. I’m a Ute. Have been, forever will be,” Scalley said.
Scalley grew up a Ute fan, played for Utah and coached for Utah. Since taking over, he’s said that his logo has never changed, nor will it.
The former Highland High star, and the inaugural Deseret News Mr. Football winner, was recruited by, and played for, Ron McBride. As soon as Scalley sat down for the press conference, he spotted his former coach and walked off the stage to give him a hug.
Scalley, who started his career as a receiver before taking Whittingham’s suggestion to move to safety, capped off his playing days by going 12-0 in 2004 as Utah became the first BCS Busters under coach Urban Meyer.
A few years after, he accepted a graduate assistant position on Whittingham’s staff and never looked back.
There are few people that have been as dedicated to Utah as Scalley, who has moved from fan to player to assistant coach to head coach of the school he deeply loves.
“Morgan shares our values. He shares our history. And even more importantly, he’s got the brains and know-how to succeed in this new era of college athletics. I am confident that we have the right man for the job at the right time,” University of Utah president Taylor Randall said.
The foundation for Scalley’s life is family, faith and football, and Utah’s new head coach made that known at the start of his remarks.
“I’m grateful to my Savior, Jesus Christ — not ashamed to say that — whose sacrifice for me has led me in this direction. Didn’t know that I really wanted to get into coaching. And so I’ve led my life based on the belief that He will guide me. And based on the spirit, it has brought me to this place where I can give and serve and love,” Scalley said.
‘We want you to become great men’
Scalley’s job, first and foremost, is to win games. Ultimately, that is what he is paid to do, and he is going to do everything in his power to continue Utah’s winning tradition.
“I’m going to pour everything I have into this program and make you proud,” Scalley said.
While the goal is to win, Scalley is also in a unique position to be a role model and a leader for players each year — and that is something he does not take lightly.
“There are so many more things that we teach you guys about what it takes to be successful in life that go beyond the game, that are transferrable. That’s why I coach,” Scalley said.
“Yes, I’m competitive. Yes, I want to win every game by 50. Yes, we’re going to teach. We’re going to scheme. We’re going to be the most innovative and on the edge, on the cutting edge, of being the best. But we want you to become great men, great fathers.”
As for the football side, while athletic director Mark Harlan emphasized that Utah will continue to provide “the resources needed to attract and retain the best talent and the best coaches,” Scalley said he needs to create a culture that is strong enough that “maybe a higher dollar figure doesn’t sway” a player to leave.
“I’ve always been about creating culture. Culture is what you believe. It’s how you behave and it’s the experience that’s delivered by that behavior,” Scalley said.
“The experience has to be awesome. If the experience is not awesome, if they don’t believe in the culture and they don’t see the fruits and the benefit of the culture, they’ll leave. So you have to create a culture that’s strong enough that maybe a higher dollar figure doesn’t sway it.”
While Scalley’s defensive foundation is sure, he’ll be involved with the offensive side of the football for the first time in his career. He emphasized physicality on the offensive line, of course, but also said that Utah’s offense will need to be creative and innovative.
Scalley feels like he has found that in his new offensive coordinator, former Utah State OC Kevin McGiven.
“When Kyle came to me last year and said, ‘I want you to look at the coordinators that we’re interviewing,’ we looked at about six, seven different coordinators and I came to Jason Beck’s offense and saw the formations of the boundary, the shifts, the motions, the stuff that causes defensive coaches ulcers,” Scalley said.
“How are we going to match that? How are we going to do this? And so the same process with Kevin. And you take a look at that film and you’re like, ‘my gosh, OK, yeah.’ It makes you smile. At least, it makes me smile. And then everyone else will understand the why, but so excited. You have to be physical and then you have to be innovative. You have to always be on the cutting edge. Always be a student. Never think you have the answers.”
Embracing the challenge — and the future
Whittingham’s legendary 21-year run as head coach will be a tough act to follow. Since becoming head coach, Scalley has said multiple times that you don’t want to be the guy that follows the guy.
That’s Scalley’s job, though, and he is confident in his ability to not only continue Whitingham’s success, but to coach Utah to places the program has never gone.
“The goal now is playing in January, get a national championship,” Scalley said. “We’re going to do it here at the University of Utah. I’ve always believed that.”
As Scalley embarks on his inaugural season — Utah’s first since 2004 without Whittingham at the helm — he understands the difficult road in front of him. But it’s a path he’s embracing wholeheartedly.
“Change can be difficult for a lot of people. People leave an organization and there’s doubt, there’s fears, questions. … Fear has a significant psychological impact on the mind. To the fearful, it’s threatening because it means that things may get worse. For the hopeful, it’s encouraging because things may get better,” Scalley said.
“And to the confident, it’s inspiring because the challenge exists to make it better. I’m confident and excited for the future.”
It’s a future that could bring Utah’s program to a new level if everything goes right, university officials believe.
“Kyle’s impact on this university was broader than his victories on the field — it also impacted us as a community. He set a high standard, a standard that we know Morgan will exceed,” Randall said.