Utah was hit with an unexpected staff change on Monday when Greg Argust resigned just months after being promoted from strength and conditioning coach to director of football sports performance. The timing stood out even more because he had spent more than 20 years inside the program.

On April 27th, Jason Batacao, the Utes’ beat writer for the Salt Lake Tribune, hopped onto his X handle and confirmed it.

“Utah’s director of football sports performance resigned on Monday morning, a university spokesperson confirmed to me.” He tweeted.

It was pretty shocking news for Utah fans when Greg Argust announced he was stepping down. Besides the fact that it’s been just a few months since his promotion, Argust has been a staple of the program for over 20 years, starting all the way back as a graduate assistant, making this a head-turning move.

This all went down right after the Utes finished up their spring camp. Usually, this is the time when everyone is gearing up for the season, and Coach Morgan Scalley had even been giving Argust a ton of credit for keeping the players in great shape and helping prevent injuries.

“Greg Argust and his staff did an amazing job during the offseason of building guys up, developing them, getting the weight on, getting the strength and the power,” Scalley said of Greg last month. “Cut down on the soft-tissue injuries. And really it was, I think, maybe a hamstring or two, a concussion, and then maybe a sprained knee. But other than that, with as much live work as you’re doing, stuff happens, but very pleased with how we came out of this spring ball.”

That is what made the move feel abrupt. Argust was not a new face stepping into the job; he was a longtime Utah staffer who had only recently been elevated, so the resignation landed at the exact moment the program needed continuity most. To have the main strength and conditioning guy quit right after getting a promotion is definitely not something you see every day.

Argust was actually the guy chosen to replace Doug Elisaia, who left for Michigan to stay with former head coach Kyle Whittingham. Because Argust had been around for so long, everyone thought he was the perfect “bridge” to keep things stable during this huge transition period for Utah football.

Now that he’s gone, it adds another layer of change to a program that’s already undergoing a big makeover. As for why he left, we’re still in the dark. Argust hasn’t given a specific reason for his resignation, and when the Desert reporters reached out, he didn’t have much to say.

Utah also did not have much time to sit with the news. With the opener against Idaho a little over four months away, the program had to move fast, and it responded by elevating Steve Saunders. While it’s tough to lose a long-time veteran like Argust, bringing in someone with NFL experience is a pretty big win for Coach Scalley as he tries to keep everything rolling in his anticipated season.

Everything you need to know about Utes’ new director of performance

Before coming to Salt Lake City, Saunders spent seven seasons with the Baltimore Ravens and later became their head strength and conditioning coach. He helped train top players like Lamar Jackson and James Harrison. Former Utah safety Eric Weddle, who worked with him in Baltimore, called him “the best strength coach I’ve ever had in my entire career”.

Saunders is a big believer that everybody’s body functions and movements are different. So instead of everyone doing the same thing, he has personalized plans for every single player on his roster.

“I pushed the guys a lot more, but I pushed them in a smart way,” Saunders said back in 2017. “These guys want that. There’s a buy-in from the athletes in that they believe in this and want to get better each time.”

“Guys want an individualized program, too. They don’t want to see 50 guys all doing the same thing, because everyone has different needs at the end of the day.” He added.

One of Saunders’ most famous methods is using “disguised” intensity. During the long season, players can get tired of seeing heavy weights. So, Saunders often uses bands and simple tools instead of heavy weights. Unlike many old-school programs that focus only on the offseason, Saunders believes players should get stronger during the season too. He pushes his players to lift weights during the season, too.

Saunders played defensive tackle at Millersville University. He is also the founder of Power Train Sports Institute, which grew from a single location into a nationwide operation with over 28 locations. He’s well regarded as one of the best strength and conditioning coaches in all of American professional sports.