Utah's Morgan Scalley Named to National Coach of the Year Watch List

Utah Utes head football coach Morgan Scalley has been named to the 2026 Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year Award watch list, per an announcement on Wednesday.

Scalley is one of 28 FBS coaches named to this year's watch list. He's also one of five from the Big 12 Conference. The first-year head coach took over in Salt Lake City after Kyle Whittingham coached the Utes for 21 seasons after taking over for Urban Meyer.

Scalley is the ultimate "Utah Man" and spent 19th year overall on the Utes coaching staff. He was named head coach prior to the 2025 Las Vegas Bowl—a 44-22 victory for the Utes over Nebraska—and has guided the team to a 6-0 start in 2026. Scalley is the first Utah head coach to win their first seven games and first to start their first full season with a 6-0 record, according to Utah Athletics.

During those 18 seasons as an assistant coach, he developed 33 Utah Utes into NFL talent while his players earned 14 All-American awards (four consensus or unanimous), 21 All-Conference First Team selections and five Freshman All-Americans. In 2019, he was a finalist for the Broyles Award, an annual honor presented to college football's most outstanding assistant coach.

The Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year Award is named after the legendary Alabama Crimson Tide football coach. It's presented to a college football coach for contributions that make the sport better for athletes and fans alike by demonstrating grit, integrity and a winning approach to coaching and life – both on and off the field.

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Under Scalley's leadership, Utah is one of six remaining undefeated teams and one of just two Power Conference programs to rank in the FBS top 11 both in scoring offense (8th) and scoring defense (11th). The Utes debuted a revamped offense under Kevin McGiven this season that has averaged 486.5 yards per game to date, placing ninth best in the country. The defense has held opponents to the third-lowest passing efficiency in the nation while allowing just 88.7 rushing yards per game—12th-best in FBS.

No. 10 Utah hosts No. 14 Houston on Saturday, Oct. 24. Kickoff for the Big 12 After Dark Affair will be at 10:15 p.m. ET. This comes 13 hours after ESPN College GameDay will be broadcast live on campus in Salt Lake City. The show will be from 7 to 10 a.m. local time on President's Circle in the center of campus. It's the second straight season College GameDay has visited the U, third time in the last four seasons and seventh time overall.