Weber State’s Jay Hill, BYU’s Kalani Sitake Mentioned As Potential Candidates For Arizona Wildcats Job
Dec 12, 2020, 5:18 PM
Head coach Jay Hill of the Weber State Wildcats (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) and head coach Kalani Sitake of the Brigham Young Cougars (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images).
(Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Pete Thamel of Yahoo! Sports mentioned BYU football head coach Kalani Sitake and Weber State head coach Jay Hill as potential candidates to fill the same position with the Pac-12’s Arizona Wildcats.
On Saturday, December 12, the national college football reporter listed Sitake and Hill as replacements for Kevin Sumlin.
Arizona fired Sumlin earlier in the day after he posted a 9-10 record during his tenure with the Wildcats.
The Wildcats are 0-5 this season and suffered a 70-7 loss to rival Arizona State on December 11.
In addition to Sitake and Hill, Thamel suggested Boise State’s Bryan Harsin, Nevada’s Jay Norvell, Navy’s Ken Niumatolo, San Jose State’s Brent Brennan, Oregon State defensive coordinator Andy Avalos, and USC offensive coordinator Graham Harrell as additional potential candidates for Arizona’s head position.
Candidates to replace Kevin Sumlin at Arizona: Boise's Bryan Harsin, BYU's Kalani Sitake, Nevada's Jay Norvell, Navy's Ken Niumatalolo, SJSU's Brent Brennan, Oregon DC Andy Avalos, USC OC Graham Harrell and Weber State's Jay Hill.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 12, 2020
Kalani Sitake’s Resume
The native of Nukuʻalofa, Tonga has coached the Cougars since the 2016 college football season. He is the first Tongan to be a collegiate football head coach.
After playing fullback for BYU from 1994, 1997-2000, Sitake began his coaching career in the state of Arizona at Eastern Arizona.
Following a season at Eastern Arizona, he returned to BYU to coach as a graduate assistant.
After one season as a GA at BYU, Sitake coached a Southern Utah for a couple of years.
Prior to getting hired as the Cougars’ head coach, he served as a defensive coordinator for a pair of Pac-12 schools in Utah and Oregon State.
As BYU’s head coach, Sitake owns a record of 36-26.
BYU coach Kalani Sitake and his players after beating USC in OT: 🕺🕺🕺 pic.twitter.com/cZ0WGphPYZ
— ESPN (@espn) September 15, 2019
Under Sitake, the Cougars have a bowl record of 2-1.
He’s coached the Cougars to a pair of nine-win seasons during his five seasons in Provo.
Jay Hill’s Resume
The Lehi, Utah native has served as Weber State’s head coach since 2014.
Prior to his coaching career, Hill played cornerback for two seasons at Ricks College and another two seasons with the University of Utah.
He took his first coaching job as a graduate assistant with the Utes in 2001.
Hill coached at Utah from 2001-13.
During his time with the Utes, Hill coached cornerbacks, tight ends, running backs, and special teams.
As the Wildcats’ head coach, he has an overall record of 47-29.
.@weberstatefb head coach Jay Hill gets an ice bath just as he shakes hands with Demario Warren after the Wildcats beat Southern Utah 30-13 in the #FCSPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/zJirlbRtOA
— Jeremiah Jensen (@JJSportsBeat) December 3, 2017
In the postseason, Weber State has a 5-4 record under Hill.
Hill has led Weber State to three consecutive Big Sky Conference titles in the past three seasons.
