When Kyle Whittingham hired Morgan Scalley, he asked for career goals. Scalley said he wanted to be a defensive coordinator within five years and a head coach by Year 10. Left unsaid: he wanted those jobs at his alma mater. Scalley didn't meet his self-appointed deadlines. After joining Utah's staff in 2006, he spent a decade before becoming Whittingham's defensive coordinator. He twice was named Whittingham's designated successor but got the top job in December when Whittingham stepped down before heading to Michigan.

Scalley enters his first season leading a Utah program with an obvious next step. Whittingham seemingly did it all during 21 seasons, but he never made the BCS title game or the College Football Playoff. Since the CFP launched in 2014, only 12 Power 4 teams have won 103 games or more. Of those, Utah and Iowa are the only squads still seeking their first playoff appearances.

The next step for this program is to make the playoffs, athletic director Mark Harlan said. Scalley's primary task is to take Utah somewhere it has never been before. His pathway to do so is rooted in local knowledge.