Several families in the Wasatch County School District allege that head football coach Jody Morgan verbally and emotionally abused their sons. They say Morgan created a culture of fear and intimidation that devastated their children’s mental health and left some students struggling with self-harm and suicidal thoughts.
KPCW confirmed a third party is investigating Morgan’s coaching at Wasatch, and Morgan told KPCW Nov. 21 he had been placed on administrative leave.
On Dec. 2, Wasatch County School District spokesperson Kirsta Albert again declined to comment about the status of the third-party investigation. She also declined to comment on Morgan’s employment status with the district.
KPCW’s Nov. 22 report documenting the alleged abuse prompted an outpouring of responses from current and former athletes and parents.
Two people associated with the Wasatch football program, a parent and a current player, wrote to KPCW complimenting Morgan’s coaching. The parent said his son found the coach “uplifting and motivating.”
“The changes Coach Morgan has implemented have had a tremendously positive impact on my son, and I fully support the culture he is working to build,” he wrote.
And the player said, “We all love Coach Morgan and we know he loved us.”
But far more reached out to share their own allegations of abuse, including nearly a dozen families from Riverton and Herriman high schools. Morgan coached in the Jordan School District from late 2018 to early 2024 before coming to Wasatch County.
One former Riverton player, who asked to be identified only by his middle initial, J., out of privacy and safety concerns, said when he read about Wasatch High School families’ allegations, he recognized his own experience. He said he spoke to high school administrators about his concerns, but nothing changed.
“I just felt like a huge burden came off of me, because I just felt like, for the longest time, that we were treated so wrongly and no one ever did anything about it,” J. said.
Documented concerns in Jordan School District
Jordan School District records corroborate the Riverton families’ allegations that Morgan’s behavior was a concern before he coached at Wasatch.
In response to KPCW’s records requests, the district shared a November 2021 “letter of concern” from Riverton’s principal to Morgan.
In that letter, then-principal Carolyn Gough said an administrative investigation into Morgan’s actions as head football coach "discovered patterns of behavior and practices that did not align with district policy," including allegations of discriminatory comments, hazing and "struggles some have faced with the culture of the program in general." She noted the allegations against Morgan dated back to at least September 2021.
Gough directed Morgan to create a “more equitable and positive” environment on the team and to confer with other head coaches about leadership and how to build community. She told him to learn the names of all the coaches and players and to “consider the balance between positive and negative comments.”
“Please make a plan for ways to increase your overall concern and interest in the mental well-being of players and coaches,” she wrote.
She told Morgan that if he failed to bring the football program into compliance, he could be fired.
Employment records show he left Riverton at the end of the 2022-2023 school year. The district did not release any other details about his departure.
From there, Morgan headed to Herriman High School, also in the Jordan School District, as a full-time physical education teacher and assistant football coach. Administrators again documented performance concerns.
In October 2023, Herriman Principal Todd Quarnberg sent Morgan an official notice of “inappropriate and unacceptable behavior,” including an incident of failing to teach or supervise his students. He also told Morgan he could face termination if he didn’t improve.
Wasatch High School announced Morgan’s hiring two months later, in December 2023, and he started work in January 2024 when he left Herriman. It’s unclear whether the Wasatch County School District was aware of Morgan’s documented policy infractions at Riverton and Herriman when it hired him.
Albert, the district spokesperson, told KPCW Dec. 2 the district always checks references and conducts background checks when hiring teachers and coaches. She did not speak to Morgan’s specific hiring process.
“I don’t understand how no one did anything about it”
Emails and phone calls from former members of the Riverton football program and their parents reveal more about the concerns outlined in administrators’ letters detailing Morgan’s alleged infractions.
J., the former Riverton athlete, told KPCW playing for Morgan took away his love of the game. A few colleges recruited him, but by the end of high school, he said he no longer wanted to play.
J. said Morgan’s alleged abuse haunted him after graduation, like a time he tried to watch his younger brother’s game.
“It was the weirdest thing I’ve ever experienced, but I could not get out of the car,” J. said. “I started bawling because it brought all these memories of the way I was treated. For an hour and a half, I sat in the car crying.”
And he said the emotional effects continue years later.
“Literally last week, I had another nightmare that I was at practice with Coach Morgan and that he was ripping me apart for not doing something right,” J. said. “People can say you’re soft, but I don’t feel like a 21-year-old kid who’s now in college should still be having nightmares about a high school football coach.”
A fellow Riverton graduate, Cooper Woolley, did go on to play in college. He said he also became disenchanted with football because of Morgan. He remembered one incident from his senior year during a low-stakes pre-season scrimmage.
“I made a mistake in that game, and he completely blew his lid,” Woolley said. “Stood me in the middle of the field and just berated me in front of hundreds of people and parents.”
He said Morgan could also lose his temper in the locker room after games.
“He would throw chairs on the regular. He’d throw garbage cans and kind of everything on the regular,” he said. “It was never an uncommon sight to see him throwing something in moments of anger.”
His younger brother, Sam Woolley, said he remembered Morgan’s infant daughter crying while Morgan screamed at the team.
The brothers’ father Matt Woolley said they and numerous other Riverton families asked high school administrators, the athletic director and district leaders to intervene. But the Woolleys said they never got a response.
J. said he similarly met with Riverton High School administrators about his concerns while he was part of the team, to no effect. He estimated he talked to school leaders three or four times.
“I don’t understand how no one did anything about it,” J. said. “How does that just go underneath the rug? And then for him to be hired at Herriman [High School], and then to get hired as a head coach again at Wasatch, and then for the same thing to happen? It just makes me so sad.”
Matt Woolley, the Riverton brothers’ father who was a volunteer coach under Morgan, said he’s speaking out now to support families at Wasatch High School who are afraid to come forward.
“I would like them [Wasatch County School District] to use all of their power to remove Jody Morgan permanently from ever being able to coach, teach, be part of any leadership that involves kids – he has no business,” he said.
J. said he agrees an alleged culture of fear has kept others from stepping in.
“I’m sure when he reads this article, he’ll say, ‘Well, why didn’t anyone say anything to me?’” J. said. “Well, because if they said something to [you], you’re probably going to punch them in the face. Or you’re going to twist their words and make them look like the bad guy.”
J. said he and his teammates were fine with tough coaching from people who cared about them, but Morgan’s approach went beyond that.
“The issue isn’t getting yelled at,” J. said. “The issue is being brought down, being told that you’re pathetic, that you’re a loser, that you’re not as good as other people.”
Cooper Woolley said playing college football helped him understand that Morgan’s coaching style wasn’t the norm.
“I played for some very, very kind men, and great coaches, guys that really changed my life when I got to college,” he said. “And it kind of opened my eyes, how unprecedented it was to act the way he did, because there’s just so many better ways to do and say what you want without being verbally abusive.”
J. said he has empathy for those involved with the Wasatch football program.
“I know exactly how those kids feel,” J. said. “I want to be able to talk to them and help them through it. But I also want to tell them I’m sorry, because nothing happened. Those kids didn’t have to go through that.”
