Utah Defensive Coordinator Morgan Scalley: "A Blessing Just To Be Back"

Following a summer full of highs and lows, Utah defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley is happy to be back on the sidelines and has "a lot of work to do in gaining their trust back”

Following stunning allegations this summer that Morgan Scalley, Utah's defensive coordinator, used a racial slur in a text message exchange with a recruit back in 2013, he was suspended pending the results of the investigation. 

After the turmoil, it was announced by Utah athletic director Mark Harlan and head coach Kyle Whittingham that Scalley would remain on staff as defensive coordinator, albeit with certain changes to his current contract among other things.

1) Coach Scalley will engage with leadership of the University’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion team, including Vice President Mary Ann Villarreal. He will participate in regular and on- going diversity and inclusion education, and will be expected to be a key partner in addressing issues of racism and bias in the Utah Athletics Department, the University and the broader community.
2) In December 2019, the University and Coach Scalley verbally agreed to a multi-year extension of his contract, increasing his annual compensation to $1.1 million. Instead, his new contract will revert to his 2018 compensation level in the form of a one-year term for $525,000.
3) In December 2019, Director of Athletics Mark Harlan extended a verbal offer to Coach Scalley to become the Head Coach In-Waiting, which Harlan has now rescinded.

"In addition to the information provided in the report, we have engaged in multiple conversations with student-athletes in the football program to listen and to understand their perspectives as we have worked through this process," Harlan and Whittingham wrote in a letter. "That included an in-depth conversation with the 13-member Leadership Council, a diverse group of student-athletes from the team’s various classes, as well as a meeting with the entire team in which we presented the serious and significant findings of the report. These conversations were insightful and candid, which provided an even deeper level of understanding of the range of emotions our student-athletes are feeling. They communicated to us their concerns and expectations, as well as their strong support for Coach Scalley to remain on the staff." 

After what took place this past summer, most people would assume that Scalley had a summer he would like to forget about. 

But for anybody who knows the man, that's not the case. He fully accepts what transpired and is now moving past what happened while learning and embracing the valuable lessons that he encountered.

“It’s been a blessing just to be back with the players again, understanding that I’ve got a lot of work to do in gaining their trust back,” Scalley said on Friday. 

Friday was the first time that Scalley has spoke publicly since the reported incident and its subsequent investigation findings. Naturally one of the most pressing questions asked was how the players have responded to his return and how he's handling the situation.

“I had a lot of very open and honest conversations with our players," Scalley said. "It’s been fantastic. ... I love my job. I love teaching and coaching, not only doing things with our team but with our athletic department. It’s been a blessing to be back with the players I love.”

There's no questioning how much Scalley is beloved by his players, with Nick Ford — arguably the most influential member of the team — taking to social media earlier this week to wish the embattled defensive coordinator a happy birthday.

Happy birthday coach!!! Couldn’t ask for anyone else to share this day with. Here’s to 21 and 41😂🙌🏽 pic.twitter.com/bNpniMntYG

— Nick Ford 🇵🇹 (@NickFord55) October 8, 2020

Scalley's return was sure to bring up a lot of comments from the naysayers outside of the program, but it appears that he had done everything correctly since returning to the staff.

“Phenomenal. He’s an outstanding football coach and and outstanding person,” Whittingham said on Friday. “We are just going ahead. We’ve put it behind us. We’ve all learned from it, particularly Morgan, from what transpired."

With the issue put behind the team and them moving forward, Scalley was asked about the defense for the upcoming season. The Utes must find a way to replace nine former starters from last season's team, all of whom are in the NFL in some sort of capacity. 

If the depth chart listed on Friday was any indication, Utah is going to experience growing pains with 10 true freshman listed among the two-deep. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, and not a place that is new to Scalley and the coaching staff.

"It seems like every year you're having to replace someone. It just so happens that this year it's a little bit more," Scalley said in Friday morning's media availability. "Guys will step up. It's our job as coaches to recruit, develop, and put them in the best situation possible. We've got guys. Now it's just a matter of once the pads come on that we're hitting properly, that we're tackling properly. We're excited with this young group and the guys that we've got coming back. We've had to replace guys in the past and that's no difference this year."

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