‘I’m fired up’: Morgan Scalley takes charge of Utah in Las Vegas after Kyle Whittingham leaves for Michigan

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After Kyle Whittingham stepped down as Utah’s coach two weeks ago, it was only a matter of time until Morgan Scalley’s first game as the Utes’ new head coach.

Scalley’s head coaching debut was supposed to be Sept. 3, 2026, when Utah opens next season at home against Idaho, but after Whittingham accepted the head coaching job at Michigan, that date has been moved up.

Scalley will be leading the Utes in the Las Vegas Bowl on New Year’s Eve when they take on Nebraska.

“I’m fired up. I’m excited. I mean, there’s going to be learning on the go. At the same time, I have complete trust in our coaching staff and our players. They’re locked in. They’re dialed in,” Scalley said on Friday night in Las Vegas.

“You see in that first team meeting guys that are intent on finishing this season off the right way. Eleven wins, we’ve only had that three times in University of Utah football history and we want to make that four.”

Prior to news breaking Friday that Whittingham was taking the Michigan job, there were only three opt-outs among the two-deep on the Utes’ depth chart — offensive tackle Spencer Fano, offensive tackle Caleb Lomu and defensive end Logan Fano, all of whom have declared for the 2026 NFL Draft.

On Friday, Scalley said he did not expect the roster for the Las Vegas Bowl to change.

“No, and again, I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that the players have known that this has been coming,” Scalley said.

While Utah senior center Jaren Kump won’t be coached by Scalley next year, he is motivated to get Utah’s new leader his first win on New Year’s Eve.

“I’m really happy for Coach Whitt, honestly, and I’m really happy for him to have this opportunity, but I’m also excited to be coached by Morgan Scalley and I’m going to tell our team ‘Let’s go get Coach Scalley’s first win on Wednesday,’” Kump said.

In the wake of Whittingham leaving for Michigan, Scalley expressed gratitude for the former Utah coach.

“Well, you never want to be the guy that follows the guy and unfortunately that’s me, but he got me into the profession. He got me to switch from offense to defense as a player. I’ve been with him since 2001,” Scalley said.

“So I’m just grateful for everything he’s done for me personally everything he’s done for the program, and the biggest thing that I’ve learned from him is it’s all about the players and in this profession, you can’t let your ego get in the way and he never did that and I’m so grateful for his legacy, what he’s taught me and for his mentorship along the way.”

ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that Whittingham informed Utah’s team in Las Vegas that he planned to take the Michigan job before flying to Orlando — where Michigan will play in the Citrus Bowl versus Texas — to meet with his new team.

“What I do know is that I guess it was his initial intent to truly retire, but then he did express that if there were certain opportunities that came up, that he would think about those, and he expressed that one of those opportunities did come up,” Kump said.

“But initially it was his intention to retire and to just be done with coaching, unless there was some opportunities that arose, and he expressed that one of those opportunities arose, so he put some thought into it and considered it with his family and did what is, I believe, a great decision for him.”

Scalley is at work trying assembling his staff while preparing his team for the bowl. Meanwhile, CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz reported Friday that Utah offensive coordinator Jason Beck and BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill are targets for Whittingham’s coaching staff at Michigan.

However, Scalley says that everyone is focused on getting Utah that 11th win. Beck and the rest of Utah’s staff were on the team flight to Las Vegas.

“A lot of it is understanding it’s all about the players,” Scalley said. “We’ve got an unbelievable staff that’s handled this thing the right way and their intent as well is to get that 11th win for our players, so it’s been a pretty seamless transition and because of how the administration and how coach Whittingham has handled the whole thing.”

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