SALT LAKE CITY — The assumption is that Kyle Whittingham is going to retire.
With Whittingham’s contractual deadline to decide on next season coming Friday, in fairness, there is a plausible scenario in which he returns for a 22nd season as the head coach at the University of Utah.
If Whittingham returns … well, things might start to get a little uncomfortable.
We’ll start this Utes mailbag right there.
Q: “If Whitt comes back next year, does Scalley leave for another team?” – @tallguy_2000
I am of the belief that Scalley legitimately thought he was going to be the head coach in 2025, but then Whittingham, after a disastrous 2024, decided to return this season, which is his right.
Whittingham, by any measure, has righted the program’s ship thanks to a 10-2 regular season, which has fueled the notion he is willing to walk away.
If he returns, that’s another season of Scalley not being the head coach, and maybe, another season of the younger end of Utah’s donor base not being thrilled, but that’s a topic for another day.
At this point, if Whittingham opts to return for 2026, it is tough to see Scalley leaving for another team for at least two reasons.
One, it’s getting a little late in the coaching cycle to make such a move, as most jobs Scalley would theoretically be up for are filled. Two, if Scalley were to take over at Utah in 2026, his base salary would be $5 million. No other head coaching position Scalley could reasonably get is meeting that number.
If Whittingham returns in 2026, complete with a base salary of $5.9 million, you can bet that Scalley is coming back as defensive coordinator, begrudgingly or not.
Q: “If you were a coach of 21 years at the same school and announcing your retirement, when and how would you do it?” – @peaceloveutes
I am the wrong person to ask this question.
In Dec. 2019, I was set to leave the Asbury Park Press and begin at The Salt Lake Tribune. I was so miserable at the end of my APP tenure after 15 years, so checked out, so ready to head to Utah, that I pulled an Irish goodbye on that newsroom and that chapter of my life.
I regret it, and a handful of colleagues reached out in the days that followed to let me know how disappointed they were that I did that. I do not recommend doing that.
Enough with the therapy session.
I can’t tell Whittingham what to do, but if he does choose to retire, my prediction is that it’s done quietly, with as little pomp and circumstance as possible. He never seems comfortable with attention, and I don’t think he wants to get emotional on people, which will absolutely happen if this is made into a big deal.
I’ve joked about this on Twitter in recent weeks, but seriously, my bet is that, whatever he decides, it will be announced via athletic department press release, which is the quietest of the options to announce that news.
Q: “Alamo, Holiday, or Vegas (Bowls). Which one offers the most compelling storylines, and is there anything specific we should be looking for during the game (new OTs, Byrd reps, etc.)?” – @ngde09
Nobody cares.
I’m sorry, but that’s the truth.
We are living in a college football world where it’s very hard to get worked up over a non-CFP game.
That said, the obvious potential storyline for any Utah bowl game would focus on Whittingham if he’s retiring, because that would obviously be his final game.
Other than that, I find it very hard to get things cranked up if you’re talking to me about Byrd Ficklin’s reps, or whoever is in line behind Spencer Fano or Caleb Lomu, but of whom we assume will opt out of any bowl game seeing as they are both projected first-round picks in this spring’s NFL draft.
Utah defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley gestures to his players during the second half of an NCAA football game against the Kansas State Wildcats held at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. (Photo: Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News)Q: “I’d love to get your read on Kiffin vs. Reporter and ‘Hoe into a housewife’ gate.” – Anonymous
If you somehow missed this, it was absurd.
In the days leading up to the Egg Bowl between Ole Miss and Mississippi State, On3 Ole Miss reporter Ben Garrett referenced a rap song on his podcast when he said “you can’t turn a hoe into a housewife” when discussing Lane Kiffin’s flirtation with LSU.
After Ole Miss won in Starkville, as Kiffin left the field, he turned around upon seeing Garrett, walked up to him, had something to say, then walked off. Kiffin was asked about the confrontation during his postgame press conference, but balked.
I have a couple of takeaways.
You can’t stop reporters, but especially “reporters,” from saying or doing whatever they want. For Kiffin, that’s a losing battle, because in that case, you’re fighting back against idiocy.Good for Kiffin defending himself. The optics on something like that could have been ugly, but it wasn’t physical, and Kiffin made his point. The court of public opinion seemed to rightly side with Kiffin on that one.Garrett is an embarrassment. I don’t know him, I’ve never read his stuff, and I’m comfortable saying that anyway. To call anyone, but especially a coach you cover every day, a “hoe” is quite the move.
A message for young journalists: Don’t do what Ben Garrett did.
Q: “Give Kyle advice on how to properly news dump his retirement decision.” – @801utes
The contractual deadline is Friday. That doesn’t mean any official word is coming on Friday, but for the purposes of this exercise, we will pretend that Whittingham is retiring, and yes, an announcement is imminent at some point Friday.
If Whitingham is looking for the least amount of reasonable attention possible, first, do everything you can to make sure the retirement decision does not leak, because then it becomes a free for all.
After you plug up any potential leaks, you instruct the athletic department not to fire off an email or a social media post until, at a minimum, 4 p.m. MST.
The later you do it, the fewer people are paying attention because, again, it’s Friday, people are off work, people are beginning their respective weekends.
Earlier this week, taking multiple factors into account, I posted on Twitter that the official O/U for a Friday announcement, no matter what it is, is set at 12:06 p.m. MST.
If we’re looking to news dump this thing into the ground, you don’t announce it until at least 5 p.m., maybe even as late as 6 p.m.
As always, I am happy to offer news-dumping consultation services, and I promise you, I am cheaper than your average PR firm.
Q: “What’s more likely for 2026, keeping Beck, Dampier, and Ficklin, or losing all three?” – @utah_dev
I stared way too long at this question.
I would be floored if they lost all three.
Maybe there is an avenue where Beck grabs a G6 head coaching position, but that probably requires Whittingham staying, and as noted above, it’s starting to get a bit late in the calendar.
Odds are Utah hangs onto at least one between Dampier and Ficklin, so yeah, it’s very tough to see the Utes going 0-for-3.
I stand my belief that Utah is going to have a tough time hanging onto both Dampier and Ficklin, but I think that’s more likely than losing both.
If Utah loses its OC, and its two quarterbacks, that would qualify as dire. If they lost all three of them AND Whittingham retired, that would be a very tough start to Scalley’s tenure as head coach.
Q: “Pro/Con – Jay Hill vs Morgan Scalley as the successor” – @dchutchinson
OK, somebody is going to have to explain the infatuation with Jay Hill, because it doesn’t compute for me.
Or, at least not at the level Utah fans seem to hold this guy at.
What is it? He’s from Lehi? He played for the Utes? He was a Whittingham assistant for many years, so he must be good? He must be capable of doing the job at a high level?
Unless I’ve really missed something, you don’t hear Hill’s name anywhere, for anything, except inside the state of Utah. Does that count for anything, because it should.
Anyway, we’re going to skip the pros and cons of Scalley vs. Hill. Instead, because you seem to at least want to hash out the Hill possibility, here is a reminder of one thing.
Scalley may be the “head coach in waiting,” but not for nothing, his contract only outlines what the base salary would be if and when he takes over. There is no language in Scalley’s contract saying he is automatically next, even if that is the likely scenario once Whittingham leaves, whenever that is.