For the first time since President George W. Bush’s first term, Utah will have a new head coach on the sidelines this fall. 

Kyle Whittingham’s unprecedented run in Salt Lake City came to an end last season after over 20 seasons in charge of the Utes. The future Hall of Famer announced he was resigning at the end of the regular season, allowing head-coach-in-waiting Morgan Scalley to take over ahead of the Las Vegas Bowl.

Whittingham was the second-longest-tenured coach in the country, behind only Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, before stepping down, and he was one of only three coaches to lead the Utes since 1989. 

Even though Scalley played under both Whittingham (then as defensive coordinator) and head coach Urban Meyer at Utah and has worked his way up from his start as a graduate assistant in 2007 to now running the program, things will look different for the Utes. 

Here’s what to expect from Utah when it visits Boulder in October:

Offseason storylines

Things didn’t end with Whittingham stepping aside in December.

When the longtime coach announced his decision, he didn’t say he was retiring. He announced his intentions to keep coaching. It appeared as if he wanted to continue at Utah, but many in the athletic department wanted to give Scalley a chance to lead the program, despite another 10-win regular season, the third such season in the last five.

In a move that was unforeseen by just about everyone in college football, Whittingham was named the head coach at Michigan a few weeks later. With him came several assistant coaches, most notably offensive coordinator Jason Beck, as well as several key players who will be instant contributors for the Wolverines.

The Utes suddenly had to replace two coordinators, an entire starting offensive line and a coach to lead it, as well as multiple standout defensive players. Scalley brought in Kevin McGiven from nearby Utah State and promoted linebackers coach Colton Swan to be the defensive coordinator while holding on to the biggest name on the roster in quarterback Devon Dampier, a former New Mexico transfer who came to Salt Lake City with Beck but decided to remain with the Utes given Michigan already has an established starter at quarterback.

Utah brought in a transfer portal class that ranked near the bottom of the Big 12, but that’s not uncommon for a program that has long relied on development and replacing starters from within, and it pairs well with a high school recruiting class that ranked fifth in the conference, per On3.

On offense

Even with a change at coordinator, don’t expect the Utah offense to look much different this season. McGiven is a veteran play-caller in college and has shown an ability to adapt his units to his personnel over the years, but his experience just last season utilizing a dual-threat quarterback in Bryson Barnes (a former Ute himself) to the Mountain West’s No. 2 scoring offense and No. 3 total offense should be encouraging.

Not only does Utah return one of the top quarterbacks in the conference in Dampier, who accounted for over 3,330 passing and rushing yards last season to go with 34 total touchdowns, but the program was also able to hold onto backup quarterback Byrd Ficklin, a dynamic playmaker in his own right who torched the Buffs for nearly 300 yards of offense and three touchdowns last October.

The Utes also have one of the conference’s better running backs in Wayshawn Parker, who has racked up over 1,700 rushing yards in his first two seasons, but a lot will be determined by how good this new-look offensive line is. Utah had two first-round NFL draft picks, Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu, leave the program, while also needing to replace the three interior blockers as well.

Out wide, Utah State transfer Braden Pegan comes with McGiven after a breakout 2025 season and should be the top target in the passing game.

On defense

The Utes return their top two tacklers from last season in linebacker Johnathan Hall and defensive back Jackson Bennee, but the rest of the defense will be composed of newcomers or players seeing their roles dramatically elevated.

Elite defensive end John Henry Daley followed Whittingham to Michigan after totaling 11.5 sacks last season, while standout safety Tao Johnson left for UCLA.

Transfers Ethan Day (North Texas) and Lucas Samsula (Wyoming) should help a defensive line that lost a ton of production from last season beyond Daley.

At cornerback, Elijah Davis (two interceptions in 2025) should step into the top cornerback role vacated by Smith Snowden, who also left for Michigan.

---

The Utah Utes file

2025 record: 11-2 (7-2 Big 12)

Head coach: Morgan Scalley (1st season as HC, 20th overall at Utah)

Offensive coordinator: Kevin McGiven (1st season)

Defensive coordinator: Colton Swan (1st season as DC, 8th at Utah)

Key returners: QB Devon Dampier, RB Wayshawn Parker, LB Johnathan Hall, CB Elijah Davis, DB Jackson Bennee

Key newcomers: WR Braden Pegan, OT Cedric Jefferson, DE Ethan Day