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Megan Marsden says the idea of strolling into the sunset of retirement with her husband was tempting. Instead, she decided to stick around and walk into the full glare of the spotlight.

Marsden, who has served as an assistant or co-coach of Utah's gymnastics team since 1985, will become the face of the program going forward, now that her husband, Greg, has retired after 40 years at the helm.

She'll share the co-coaching duties with Tom Farden, Utah's assistant since 2011 who has been deemed the heir apparent once Megan decides to follow her husband into retirement.

How long the Marsden name will be associated with the program is anyone's guess, including Megan's.

"It might be a year, two years, maybe 10 or 12," she said. "I really don't know, and it will be determined by how things proceed in a lot of aspects. I am hoping I will be like Greg and know when it is time, but right now I feel like I have a lot to give to this program and the girls in it."

Marsden's ascension to the head coaching role has been a gradual one.

An assistant from 1985 to 96 after her athletic career as a Utah gymnast was complete, Megan was promoted to associate coach from 1997 to 2009, then to co-coach in 2010. Since then, she has taken on more of the head coaching managerial duties, such as attending league and NCAA meetings and handling media requests.

However, Marsden knows the scrutiny and expectation of her will be even greater with her husband stepping away. For so long, her identity was of the former gymnast who captured the coach's heart, then joined him on the coaching staff.

Now, with the sudden departure of Greg Marsden, it's natural to wonder just who Megan is as a coach. Can she go beyond being the beam coach to being the face of the program?

There are those who say she can ­— and in fact has already has done so.

"She and Greg have been a great team," said Denise Druce, Megan's longtime friend and fitness instructor who helps train the gymnasts in the offseason. "But she and Tom have done so much more on the front lines of coaching lately. Greg did a fabulous job of getting her ready, and they've been smart about the way they've put the staff together."

As for Greg, he plans to step far away from the program, lest anyone think he will still be overseeing it in some fashion.

"It's critical for me to do that," he said. "I don't want them or anyone to think I am second guessing them. They need to put their own stamp on the program."

It won't be too much of a change for Megan.

Often it was Megan who served as the liaison among gymnasts, families and friends. Greg might be recognized as the mastermind behind many of the public relations moves, but normally it was Megan who saw them through with the public.

While Greg was often the enforcer with the gymnasts, Megan has a softer touch. She is strict, but with her own tactics. A little less in your face.

There will be differences, Utah's gymnasts say, but perhaps not much.

"There might be small changes, but it is still the same program," said Utah outgoing senior Becky Tutka. "One of the primary reasons I came here is because Megan and Greg made this program feel like a family, and I don't think that is going to change."

But sometimes, as they say, it is the quiet ones you have to watch out for — in many ways, Megan fits that description.

Megan is just as competitive as her husband, if not more.

"People forget that she was a very successful athlete before she was a coach and she is extremely competitive," Utah athletic director Chris Hill said. "There was nobody who took our loss in the Pac-12s a few years ago harder than she did. But that is good for the program; she cares, and she is very devoted."

As for being chummy with fellow coaches like Greg was in his latter years of coaching? Forget it.

"I guess I am going to have to get better at greeting the other coaches now on meet nights," Megan said, almost wistfully. "I grew up as an athlete, so I still have that perspective, that you don't fraternize. Greg didn't have that, and he always saw the big picture as a coach. I had the perspective of an athlete and being competitive, especially on meet night. You didn't have a lot to do with the other team."

When it comes to on-the-floor coaching duties, Farden will continue to handle the uneven bars. Megan will oversee the beam while new assistant Meredith Paulicivic will add her input on other events.

Megan said the roles have yet to be ironed out, but as far as the program, the direction is there.

"Everything is starting to sink in now," Megan said. "We still have some things to work out, but we want to keep this program moving forward." —

Coach Megan Marsden

• Former Utah gymnast joined her husband on the coaching staff in 1985

• Served as assistant coach from 1985 to 1996

• Served as associate head coach from 1997 to 2009

• Has served as the co-coach since 2010

• Specializes in coaching the beam —

Athlete Megan Marsden

• Led Utah to four national titles from 1981 to '84

• Three-time NCAA champion (1983 all-around title and 1984 all-around and vault titles)

• Finished her career as 12-time All-American

• Winner of the Broderick Award, which goes to the country's top gymnast

• Graduated from Utah in 1985