Kyle Whittingham to step down, Utah names his permanent successor

Jason Jones

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Kyle Whittingham to step down, Utah names his permanent successor image

Kyle Whittingham has been a college football coaching stalwart for three decades. Most of his career with Utah. Whittingham has been involved in Utah Utes coaching for 34 years. 

He began his Utah tenure as a defensive line coach under his father Fred Whittingham in 1991. He would be named the Utes defensive coordinator in 1995 before taking over as the head coach in 2004, succeeding Urban Meyer.

Whittingham has been the head coach for the Utes for 22 years. Whittingham retires as the second longest tenured coach in college football behind only Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz.

During his time in Salt Lake City, Whittingham finished with an all-time record of 177-88 (.668 winning percentage). In 22 years, Coach Whittingham teams earned 17 bowl game appearances, winning 11. Whittingham also secured three conference titles as the Utes head coach.

In addition to team success, Whittingham has seen nine consensus All-Americans and put several players in the NFL. Some of which include Dalton Kincaid, Eric Weddle, and Devin Lloyd. One name that will be added to that list is 2025 offensive lineman and projected first round pick Spencer Fano. Fano took to social media to react to Whittingham stepping down with three words. “Build the statue”.

There were even congratulations from people and places not directly affiliated with the Utah Utes. Bob Stoops, long time Oklahoma Sooners head coach and colleague paid his respects to one of the most respected coaches in the country. “Wishing Coach Whittingham all the best moving forward!” Stoops tweeted. “Congrats on a job well done!!”

The official BYU Football twitter account also shared some kind words. Whittingham was a player for BYU from 1978-1981 when he played linebacker for the Cougars. He also got his coaching start in Provo as a grad assistant. According to Sports Illustrated, Whittingham was 11-6 against his alma mater as the Utes coach.

Defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley has finalized a contract to take over as the permanent head coach, succeeding Whittingham. Scalley, has spent 18 years under Whittingham and over the last decade has been his defensive coordinator.

Scalley’s playing and coaching career are all tied to Utah. As a player, Scalley played safety for Utah from 2001-2004, beginning his playing career in year one of Whittingham’s head coaching tenure. Scalley began coaching as an administrative assistant in 2006. A grad assistant in 2007, and he was promoted to safeties coach in 2008.

In 2009 “Recruiting Coordinator” was added to his duties. In 2016 Scalley was promoted to defensive coordinator. In 2019, Scalley was named a Broyles Award finalist (best assistant coach in college football). Finally, in 2024, Scalley was named Utah’s “head-coach-in-waiting” before being officially named Whittingham’s successor on December 13th.  

"The legacy that Kyle Whittingham leaves distinguishes him as one of the most impactful figures in the history of Utah Athletics," Utah athletic director Mark Harlan said. "As the head coach or as an assistant, Coach Whitt played a pivotal role in the most historic and successful seasons in program history, and established championship expectations. Kyle Whittingham will forever be appreciated and cherished for his leadership and achievements with Utah Football," he added.

Utah finished the 2025 campaign with a 10-2 record and will face Nebraska in the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl. Coach Whittingham will coach his final game in that Las Vegas Bowl game. That game will take place on December 31st and kickoff at 3:30pm ET, broadcasting on ESPN.

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Staff Writer