Las Vegas • Morgan Scalley looked up at the stands as a pack of Utah fans shouted his name in Allegiant Stadium.

“Morgan! Morgan! Morgan!” a group of adoring Utah fans shouted, as the new Utes head coach showcased his winner’s smile and flashed a “U” symbol with both of his hands.

Then Scalley escaped the storm of red and white confetti and headed into the tunnel following No. 15 Utah’s dominant 44-22 win over Nebraska on New Year’s Eve.

It has been a swing of emotions for Utah’s new head coach in the days leading up to his first-ever win.

Kyle Whittingham stepped down on Dec. 12 and then left for Michigan last week. Rumors, negotiations and Las Vegas Bowl preparations have happened simultaneously.

“I can’t remember where I was,” Scalley said when asked where he was when he found out he’d be assuming Utah’s head coaching role early. “I don’t know where I was — dead serious. It’s just been kind of crazy."

Scalley said he has relied on bottles of 5-Hour Energy to manage it all.

But something else, Scalley said, has kept everything together.

“It takes a strong culture to withstand change,” Scalley said. “That’s the one thing about this place that is special in this day and age of college football, where everyone’s telling these young men to get theirs.”

Utah’s new head man has seen it work when Utah fired Ron McBride and moved on to Urban Meyer. Then, when Meyer left for Florida, it worked when Whittingham was elevated.

Now he’ll need it as he takes over the Utes’ program.

“Teams will continue to win championships, not individuals, and so it’s always going to be about the team at the University of Utah,” Scalley said. “Change is going to happen. That’s just the environment we’re in.”

Junior quarterback Devon Dampier, who has yet to announce if he’s returning to the Utes or entering the NCAA transfer portal, offered high praise for Scalley for keeping the Ute boat afloat.

“I think the way Scalley came in just right away ... he went up there with confidence,” Dampier said. “And as players, you know things are going to change.

“But he just lifted us up from the jump and throughout this trip.”

Senior linebacker Lander Barton said the practices remained challenging, but Scalley also allowed the team to have fun when it mattered.

“I really never felt like the team was ever really distracted by what was going on around us,” Barton said. “I mean, it made it easy too, because it’s a good group of guys, and they’re bought into the culture. We’re all here for one reason.”

Scalley now knows the hard part starts now.

The transfer portal opens on Friday.

Utah offensive coordinator Jason Beck is headed to Ann Arbor to take Michigan’s play-calling job, Whittingham said on ESPN’s “College GameDay” on Thursday morning.

Several Utah assistants could join him in Ann Arbor as well. Scalley has a plan in place for whatever might come next in Salt Lake City, however.

What comes first, though?

“My number one goal is making sure that our guys make it home for curfew tonight in Las Vegas,” Scalley joked. “That’s number one. So beyond that, we’ll work after that.”

Joking aside, Scalley is confident in whatever comes next.

“This is a big time profession, and if people don’t think that we’ve already been planning, already been looking for the next step, then they don’t know us,” Scalley said. “We will be prepared for whatever is to come, and we are excited for those that want to be Utes.”

He’s also happy to be the next head coach for his alma mater.

Scalley also reminded Utah fans of one major thing he’ll always believe in.

“This program will always be bigger than one person,” Scalley said. “It will continue to always be about Utah football and not Morgan Scalley.”