Unpopular take coming:
Luke Fickell is the coach I would always use at a guy to go after before hiring Scalley. I think Utah is too good of a program to just hire Scalley. We can do better…maybe not better per se, but better in more proven. And the response I’d always get is, “He’d never leave Cincinnati, he would only go to Ohio State, blah, blah, blah.”
He just took the Wisconsin job, which is not a great job. They don’t spend on NIL, they don’t admit borderline kids, and you have to play tOSU, Penn St, Mich, etc. And the pay is suprisingly low. It’s not much better than what Cincinnati pays. Utah is a much better job, especially if the PAC-10 stays together, with a much easier path to the playoffs than Wisconsin.
My point? Don’t think someone isn’t obtainable just because some knob on tv says they are. Coaches want to coach at elite institutions. And will take less money than you’d think to do so. And Utah is an elite institution. Great facilities, great pathway to the playoffs, great bowl tie ins, and an above average state for recruiting with California and Texas right there.
This is a great job and to settle for Scalley just because he…knows the “culture”…that is risky. Go get the best coach you can.
My calls when Whitt retires: Chris Petersen. David Shaw. Luke Fickell. Then the next round would be the Jeff Traylor, Jay Hill. Then I’d look at Tim Albin, Morgan Scalley, Andy Avalos.
.
