Morgan Scalley succeeded Kyle Whittingham at Utah after years of carrying the “head-coach-in-waiting” tag. The program sensed the latter’s retirement while preparing the succession plan. However, that plan went for a toss because instead of retiring, Whittingham took his services to Ann Arbor. As per Joel Klatt, that one move proved disastrous for the Utes. 

“It was going to be the Bob Stoops to Lincoln Riley, the Urban Meyer to Ryan Day handoff, and then, it wasn’t,” Joel Klatt said on the February 16 episode of The Joel Klatt Show. “And I got to tell you, it concerns me for Utah.”

“Not only did Kyle Whittingham jump back into the coaching ranks, but he did so out of blue blood, where it was going to be incredibly enticing for others who were loyal to Kyle, who were at Utah, to join him and take a run at this thing. That’s exactly what happened.”

Jason Beck, who served as Utah’s OC & QBs coach for the 2025 season, followed Whittingham to Michigan. He helped Utah rank second nationally in rushing offense, fourth in total offense, and fifth in scoring offense.

Utah’s 12-year offensive line coach and co-OC, Jim Harding, also came to Ann Arbor. He was one of the veteran coaches with 24 years of experience and has sent 13 OLs to the NFL, including the 2017 first-round pick Garrett Bolles. The list includes defensive ends coach Lewis Powell, tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham, and linebackers coach Alex Whittingham. 

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Besides coaches, some of Utah’s best players also transferred to Michigan. Star edge rusher John Henry Daley transferred to the Wolverines with two years of eligibility left. The redshirt sophomore totaled 48 tackles, 17.5 for loss, which is tied for the best in the country. CB Smith Snowden, an All-Big 12 second-team member this past season, who totaled 37 tackles, nine pass breakups, and intercepted a couple of passes, also followed suit. 

Utah also lost the most productive tight end from its roster, JJ Buchanan, to Michigan with three years of eligibility. He recorded 427 passes for five touchdowns on 26 passes for this past season and made an immediate impact.

“Now all of a sudden this succession plan that was well thought out and certainly could have kept them on the tracks for what Utah—death taxes Utah football. Now, are they going to be that. I don’t know. So, I would point a little bit down,” Klatt said about his assessment of the Utes’ next season. 

The only saving grace for Scalley is that his QB Devon Dampier didn’t leave. That could be down to the fact that Michigan already has a starting QB.

Things didn’t stop with the coaches and existing players, as Whittingham is also targeting top high school prospects from Utah.

Utah lost almost all of its production in certain positions

While the Michigan raid is one part of the ordeal for Utah, there’s the added wound of players who exhausted their eligibility or left for other teams. For instance, the Utes lost all five of their starters on the O-line. That includes its star tackles Caleb Lomu and Spencer Fano.

The same is the situation at the D-line. Logan Fano and Aliki Vimahi won’t be with the program next season. In the secondary, Tao Johnson transferred to UCLA. It looks even worse in numbers. Utah lost 100% of its production on the starting O-line, 100% on its starting D-line, and over 80% of its 2025 sack production.

Morgan Scalley made some immediate changes to his coaching staff after the exodus. A few are internal promotions, including new DC Colton Swan and new safeties coach Derrick Odum. He also roped in Kevin McGiven from Utah State to be his OC and Utah alum Jordan Gross to coach the O-line.

Some portal additions, like Braden Pegan, Kyri Shoels, and Steve Chavez-Soto, can work for the program. They have improved in the WR room. However, the defense is largely made up of G5 transfers. The next season could be just a transition year for the new head coach.