Kyle Whittingham, Michigan influences Utah and BYU football transfers, coaching staffs

Kyle Whittingham is on his way to Ann Arbor, but he still has a heavy hand in Salt Lake City.

The longtime Utah coach could take on both of the state’s major programs in the coming days — hitting them for coaches and players.

He’s already started by cutting BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill and Utah offensive coordinator Jason Beck. He also took most of Utah’s offensive staff around Beck — Jim Harding, Freddie Whittingham and Micah Simon headed east.

Time will tell which Whittingham players are eyeing their Wolverines. It certainly wouldn’t be crazy to think that Whittingham wants to pick up some of the top players who helped his Utes win 11 games in 2025 and maybe steal a few from a Cougar program that outlasted Utah earlier this year.

All of which leaves new Utah coach Morgan Scalley’s first days on the job a mess. When the transfer window opened Friday, he needed two more coordinators, another recruiting director and a whole new offensive system.

Whittingham did his longtime friend Kalani Sitake no favors by stealing Hill either. With the amount of power and responsibility Hill has amassed in Provo, replacing him is much more complicated than just a simple defensive coordinator.

Here, that means the Utes and Cougars as Whittingham reshapes the state’s football landscape.

Scalley coordinator rebuild

With two coordinator positions to fill, Scalley will have to work as Utah’s head coach.

Utah linebackers coach Colton Swan is a likely candidate to become the Utes’ next defensive coordinator. He has been with the program for seven seasons and helped develop linebackers such as Devin Lloyd, Karene Reid and Lander Barton.

Where things could get tricky for Scalley is trying to replace Beck after leading one of the most high-powered offenses in Utes history, especially if he tries to keep quarterback Devon Dampier and, perhaps more importantly, rookie phenom Byrd Ficklin.

With no real internal candidates, Scalley looked to former Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith and current Arizona State offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Marcus Arroyo to fill the shoes left by Beck.

Arroyo has been with several Power Four programs over the years, including Oklahoma State, Oregon and most recently Arizona State. He could be a prime candidate to land in Salt Lake City because of his work with top quarterbacks like Sam Leavitt and Justin Herbert.

Utah has looked at BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick as a potential option, but that seems unlikely at this point.

what is clear Scalley wants to keep the offensive firepower the Utes had this season under Beck. However, the formula may change. The first-year head coach could move away from Whittingham’s hard-nosed approach to the offense that Utah has had for so many years, similar to what the Utes did in the win over Nebraska.

Which players are leaving the Utes?

All-American defensive end John Henry Daley said he will enter the NCAA transfer portal before Utah’s bowl game and could be a prime candidate to join Whittingham and Jay Hill on the Wolverines.

Utah starting defensive backs Tao Johnson and Smith Snowden entered the portal Friday and could also follow Whittingham to Michigan.

Offensively, the most notable names for the Utes are Dampier and Ficklin. Dampier has watched Beck at every stop since he became New Mexico’s offensive coordinator a few years ago. It remains unclear whether the junior quarterback will join Beck at Michigan, with five-star quarterback and former No. 1 recruit Bryce Underwood still under center.

That could leave Dampier with the option of staying in Salt Lake, going to the Wolverines with no guarantee of playing time, or opening up his options on the transfer window. Dampier is from Arizona and has ties to Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham.

Ficklin also has plenty of options to work with, even though he’s already signed a one-year deal to stay with the Utes. Before he signed, several Power of Four suitors knocked on his door. That would remain if he opts out of his contract with Utah next season.

But if he stays and Dampier goes, the freshman righty has a real opportunity to be Utah’s starter in 2025. Ficklin could also choose to follow the one man who gave him his only Power Four offer in high school: Whittingham.

What both quarterbacks will do remains to be seen. Will they stick around, leave or join Michigan? All options remain on the table.

The most powerful man in Provo?

Aaron Roderick may be the most important person in Provo this week.

For the past three years, BYU’s offensive coordinator has taken a backseat to Hill. Hill came in with a polished resume as a successful FCS head coach and immediately assumed the associate head coaching responsibilities. He recruited at a high level and routinely beat out Utah for top prospects — something that hadn’t happened in more than a decade.

Hill was the presumed next head coach if Sitake ever left Provo. And BYU athletic director Brian Santiago came close to acting on those contingency plans when Sitake flirted with Penn State in December. Because Hill meant so much to BYU, he directed resources and significant salary increases each offseason.

Last year, Hill applied for the Utah State head coaching job. BYU kept him in Provo after the payday, according to multiple sources.

But now it should be Roderick’s turn as BYU’s priority.

While not as flashy as Hill, Roderick has contributed equally to BYU winning 23 games over the past two seasons. He took quarterback Jake Retzlaff from a junior college prospect to a legitimate Power Four starter. This year, Roderick recruited and mentored freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier to 12 wins and the Big 12 title game. This season was probably more Roderick’s masterpiece than Hill’s.

And now Roderick has real power in this situation.

Sitake can’t afford to lose two coordinators in one offseason — not when BYU has made the College Football Playoff the past two years. Moreover, Roderick built the foundations of this program on Bachmeier. BYU is desperate to keep its young star quarterback in Provo — and maintain continuity around him so he can develop throughout the offseason.

Roderick was rumored to have other options, including the open offensive coordinator position at Utah. Roderick previously trained in Utah with Scalley. But it points to Roderick staying in Provo.

Aside from Roderick, Sitake needs to keep key pieces on its offensive staff.

TJ Woods helped reshape BYU’s offensive line. BYU has run the ball extremely well the past two years, a key factor in the program’s turnaround from a 5-7 start in the Big 12. Retaining Roderick, Woods and tight ends coach Kevin Gilbride will be key in the coming days.

Hill replacement

Sitake believes there are plenty of people who could replace Hill, including those currently on staff.

But there’s a difference between understanding the defense Hill left behind and filling his shoes.

Hill was a good playcaller and effective coordinator. And there are certainly people he mentored at Provo who could do these things.

But he was also a high-level recruiter, a ruthless decision-maker when it came to player moves and adept at navigating the NIL space.

These factors are equally important with an additional coordinator and theoretically an associate head coach. And we don’t know how the internal options are doing in these aspects.

One of Hill’s advantages was that he was a former head coach. He had handled most of the other duties before. As he said, he knew how to be helpful to Sitake because he had Sitake’s position.

Everyone knows the names of internal candidates: Kelly Poppinga, Gary Andersen and others. But external recruiters are really scheming. Would former Texans defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski work? Or former Cal head coach Justin Wilcox?

Bringing in a big name may have an added benefit to the perception of BYU’s investment. If Sitake takes a big swing, it could signal that BYU football is doubling down on its resources to continue competing for Big 12 titles. The Cougars just extended Sitake’s contract and offered additional resources for their staff. What better time to flex those muscles after losing Sitake’s top lieutenant at Whittingham?

Is Hill taking someone?

Hill has a track record of taking his former players with him to his next location.

BYU has been the recipient the past three years, as Hill selected his top Weber State players to join him in Provo. Eddie Heckard and Jack Kelly had fantastic stinks in Provo.

This isn’t just about talent for Hill. Part of his method of bringing in former players is to help him install a complex scheme. Hill’s system takes time to learn, but he puts a lot of responsibility on Heckard and other players to help him implement it from the ground up. Heckard was so key that Hill eventually put him on staff.

So it wouldn’t be a shock to see Hill take some players with him to Ann Arbor. But who these players are is harder to discern.

The obvious choice was Faletau Satuala, whom Hill flipped from Utah and turned into a star safety. But Satuala is a Utah native who chose between BYU and Utah in high school and turned down bigger offers. And he confirmed his plans to return to BYU in a tweet Friday afternoon.

Another candidate was Tre Alexander. The long, athletic corner was one of Hill’s key additions. But Alexander announced this week that he is staying in Provo instead of following Hill to Michigan.

Hill could bring coaches with him, with cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford at the top of the list. Hill retained Gilford from the previous BYU staff and promoted him to passing coordinator. Gilford is in line to one day become a coordinator, but Hill hopes to keep him as the position coach for now.