​The Utah Utes football program is in the midst of a transition. After 20 years with Kyle Whittingham firmly in control of the day-to-day operations, Morgan Scalley takes over with a new vision, looking to break into a new era.With any life changes there tends to be a period of self-discovery. Scalley has gone through the process of watching the program grow over the years but has never been in charge. Now he’s the one calling the shots and building up his own staff. What he has inherited from Whittingham is a group known for being physical. It’s been part of Utah’s identity going back decades before Scalley’s playing day in Salt Lake City.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementUSA TODAY Sports reporter Jordan Mendoza wrote a brief overview of all 16 Big 12 programs going into the 2026 season. The Utes earned praise for a longstanding history in the game.”Utah has become a staple for college football success, rising from the Mountain West as a Bowl Championship Series buster to fitting in seamlessly among the Power Four ranks,” Mendoza wrote.”It’s been a remarkable run for Utah with just five losing seasons in this century thanks to the decades-long tenure of Kyle Whittingham. It’s identity of a tough-nosed program has bullied its way into the upper ranks of the sport, along having one of the most feared home environments in Rice-Eccles Stadium, where few teams leave unscathed (Utah’s 77.1% home winning percentage since 2003 is best in conference).”Scalley has already started to put his own spin on how the Utes operate. One of the biggest takeaways from Big 12 Media Days was the RSNB culture at Utah. It’s an acronym that stands for “Relentless, smart, nasty, ball hawks.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“That’s just a way of playing and a way of living that I hope defines what we do on the football field,” Scalley said.While he served as the Utes defensive coordinator for years, Scalley wants to reinvent himself with a little bit of work on the offensive side of the ball. “I’ve had opportunities to do everything within the program except coach offense,” he said. “I worked in the weight room. I worked as the NFL liaison, the academic coordinator.”If Utah can tap into tradition, along with staying ahead of the changes in the NIL era, the program should be a force in the Big 12 for years to come.Where Utah ranked in Phil Steele’s College Football preseason pollJoe D’Orazio sends strong message to recruits: ‘Utah puts people in the NFLSteve Smith Sr. receives North Carolina’s highest civilian honor