Naming Scalley as Whittingham’s successor was an easy — and smart — choice

Ravell Call, Deseret News

The University of Utah football program did a favor for fans, players, recruits and itself by naming defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley the head coach in waiting on Monday. There’s no longer a mystery about who will run the program if the 64-year-old Kyle Whittingham retires.

Not that there was any doubt. It was never a secret. And it was formalized months ago but made public this week. The school noted in its news release that the new formal agreement with Scalley was actually signed Nov. 23, 2023.

The boss himself articulated the reason for the move.

“The culture and tradition within Utah football is a point of pride for our staff,” said Whittingham, “and when the time comes for a transition in the leadership of our program, we know that Morgan will carry on those traditions the Utah Football way.”

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

By every measure, it ain’t broke. The Utes have won two Pac-12 championships and finished in the national rankings six times in 10 years, including No. 12 in 2021 and No. 10 in 2022. Discounting the messy 2020 season caused by the pandemic, they’ve averaged a little more than nine wins per season since 2014. This is the golden age of football; no other era comes close.

Whittingham, the school’s all-time winningest coach, is approaching his 20th season as head coach. He’s indicated that he has considered retirement, which is why there’s a clause in his contract that names him a “special assistant” if he retires before the contract expires.

During a 2022 charity golf event, while addressing the resignation of Jazz coach Quin Snyder, he said, “There comes a time where you need a new voice and a new leader,” he said. “Obviously, he felt like that was the time for him right now. And I’m getting kind of close to that in my career.”

The…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/naming-scalley-whittingham-successor-easy-030000897.html

Author : Deseret News

Publish date : 2024-07-02 03:00:00

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