Utah significantly altered the contract of defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley, upping his salary and including a costly buyout nearly two years after Scalley had his pay cut in half and a coach-in-waiting agreement rescinded after he admitted to using a racial slur in a text message.

On March 1, according to a contract obtained by ESPN, Utah raised Scalley's annual salary to $1.4 million in a three-year deal that makes him one of the Pac-12's highest-paid assistants.

The university had suspended Scalley in June 2020 and subsequently cut his pay to $525,000 after he admitted using the racial slur in a text message he sent to a recruit in 2013. A review from an outside law firm that interviewed 35 people found that a majority of former players were surprised at the reports and had a positive relationship with Scalley.

Scalley was reinstated in July 2020 following the review, and his salary was upped to a reported $1.1 million last year.

The new contract does not give Scalley the coach-in-waiting title he once held but does include new contractual clauses that would cost Utah $4.2 million to part ways with the defensive coordinator if another head coach replaces 19-year veteran Kyle Whittingham and then chooses not to retain Scalley.