Utah football promotes Colton Swan to defensive coordinator position

Utah linebackers coach Colton Swan has been promoted to defensive coordinator, head coach Morgan Scalley announced Friday.

Swan, who has been on the coaching staff since 2019, will continue to coach the linebackers in his new role, in addition to taking over coordinator duties. Scalley had been Utah's defensive coordinator since 2016 before being named head coach earlier in December.

"Colton is the personification of the RSNB culture we've established here at Utah and he will thrive in his new role as defensive coordinator," Scalley said in a news release. "He is as good of a teacher as you will find in the game and his love for his players is unmatched. I'm confident in the continued success of this defense under Coach Swan's leadership."

Swan's track record includes sending five players to the NFL, including the highest-drafted linebacker in program history in Devin Lloyd, who was the No. 27 overall pick in the 2022 draft, and seven first-team all-conference nods.

The individual talent Swan's helped develop over the past half-decade has played a role in Utah's ascension as one of the more stout defensive teams in the country. Since his arrival, Utah has allowed 325.7 yards per game while giving up 116.6 rush yards on average. Both marks rank top nationally among power conference programs.

Utah's run defense took a step back in 2025, though remained rock solid against the pass. The Utes finished their season ranked top five nationally in pass efficiency defense (102.29), No. 17 in passing yards allowed (177.8 per game) and No. 18 in scoring defense (18.9 points allowed per game). Two of Swan's linebackers — Lander Barton and Johnathan Hall — took home All-Big 12 honors and Barton accepted an invitation to the East-West Shrine Bowl.

"I'm incredibly excited and grateful for the opportunity to lead the Utah defense this upcoming season," Swan said. "As I enter my eighth year alongside Coach Scalley, Utah has truly become home for my family and I'm eager to continue building on the strong culture that has been established here. Our defense will reflect what this program always stood for — smart, tough and relentless football — values instilled over the years by Coach Scalley and Coach Whittingham. We embrace championship expectations in 2026, and I'm looking forward to getting to work with our players."

Swan's promotion came a day after Utah lost multiple assistants to Michigan — now led by Kyle Whittingham — including offensive coordinator Jason Beck; tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham; quarterbacks coach Koy Detmer Jr.; wide receivers coach Micah Simon; offensive line coach Jim Harding and defensive ends coach Lewis Powell.

Prior to his tenure with the Utes, Swan was on the Weber State coaching staff for 15 seasons. During that time, he worked with the linebackers for seven years — the last two seasons as inside linebackers coach (2017-18) — and served as the Wildcats' co-defensive coordinator for three seasons from 2009-11. In between those roles, he coached the safeties (2006-08) and tight ends (2014-16).

Swan transitioned to being the team's special teams coordinator for the final five years of his stay in Ogden, Utah. In total, he helped develop eight All-Americans.

Before he turned to coaching, Swan was a former walk-on at Weber State. After making the team and taking a redshirt year in 1999, he played in 10 games during the 2000 season, mostly as a special teams player, and recorded 12 tackles. He earned a scholarship and role as a full-time starter during his junior season, then earned second-team All-Big Sky honors after recording 109 total tackles, forcing three fumbles and snagging an interception in 2003.

𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒚‼️@Colton_Swan has been promoted to 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 🙌

📰 https://t.co/beOrbMWLaV #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/XK5P9v2Wkx
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) January 2, 2026

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