Salt Lake City – The University of Utah has entered into a new hiring agreement with Utah football defensive coordinator Mark Harlan, University of Utah athletics director Mark Harlan said. Morgan Scully On November 23, 2023, Scully was officially named the head coach of the football program. Scully enters his 17th year on the Utes staff under head coach Kyle Whittingham In 2024.
“Coach Whittingham has built Utah football into one of the nation’s elite programs with a strong culture, tradition and exceptional student-athletes, and he has been clear about his intentions to continue leading this great Utah football program as we move into the Big 12 and into the new expanded College Football Playoffs,” Harlan said. “However, we have to plan for the future, and Coach Whittingham and I strongly believe that future lies in Morgan Scully“Morgan has been critical to our success through his embodiment of our core values and leadership, and I have witnessed his growth as a coach and as a person over the past several years. He is an elite coach who has been trained by the best – Coach Whittingham – and when the time comes for Morgan to take the helm, I have no doubt that our program will continue to be successful.”
Whittingham, Utah’s all-time winningest coach, will continue to lead the Utes into a new era as he enters his 20th season as head coach. Whittingham’s 10 assistant coaches have an average tenure of 7.4 seasons with the Utes, the longest of any staff in the power conference, including Scully’s 16 years with the program.
“Morgan Scully “Morgan is an exceptional football coach, and his appointment as head coach at the University of Utah is a testament to that,” Whittingham said. “It is a distinction earned not only because of his outstanding coaching abilities, but also because of his selfless dedication to the program and the Utah Athletics family. The culture and tradition within Utah football is a point of pride for our staff, and when it comes time for a transition in leadership of our program, we know Morgan will continue those traditions in the Utah football way.”
Scully, a former Utah All-America player, will begin his ninth season as defensive coordinator in 2024 and has coached the safeties team since joining the staff full-time in 2008. He served as Utah’s recruiting coordinator from 2009-15 and special teams coordinator in 2015, after beginning his coaching career as an administrative assistant with the Utes in 2006.
“Utah football and Utah Athletics have always been home to me and my family, and I am honored to receive this award,” Scully said. “I would like to thank President Randall, Coach Whittingham and Mark Harlan for the trust they have shown in me, and I remain committed to my continued growth as a coach, a person, and a member of the amazing University of Utah community. I am excited to begin a new era of Utah football in the Big 12 this fall under Coach Whittingham and continue the traditions that have become part of our proud history.”
Known as one of the brightest defensive minds in the business, Scully has led the Utes to finish in the top half of the Pac-12 in total defense seven times, ranking second nationally and first in the league in 2019. He has managed a top-ranking defense Rush to the Pac-12 five times in the past eight years, including top-five national rankings in 2018, 2019 and 2023. Utah has finished top of the conference in sacks and tackles for loss three times under Scully, most recently in consecutive seasons (2021, 2022). The team also finished the 2018 season ranked 11th nationally and first in the Pac-12 in sacks.
Individually, Scully has coached 13 All-Americans (four consensus or consensus), 19 first-team all-conference selections and five freshmen All-Americans. He’s also seen 29 of his protégés reach the NFL, including Devin Lloyd who became the highest-drafted player in school history in 2022 (first round, 27th overall).
The Salt Lake City, Utah native was the Utes’ Defensive Player of the Year from 2001 to 2004, Mountain West Player of the Year in 2004, a second-team All-Star (AP, Sports Illustrated) and a first-team All-Star. He was a second-team All-Star on the 2003 All-Star team, and was named the All-Star Defensive Player of the Year in 2001 and 2002.
As a senior, he led Utah to a 12-0 record, a Fiesta Bowl win over Pittsburgh and a No. 4 national ranking in a historic season in which Utah became the first non-BCS team to play in a BCS bowl game.
The two-time first-team Academic All-American received the inaugural Pat Tillman Award during the 2005 East-West Shrine Game, in recognition of his character, intelligence, sportsmanship and service. He graduated from the University of Utah in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in mass communication, and obtained a master’s degree in business administration from the United States in 2006.
