BYU Football Promoting Kelly Poppinga To Defensive Coordinator
Jan 7, 2026, 5:15 PM | Updated: Jan 9, 2026, 9:49 am
PROVO, Utah – Kalani Sitake is turning to Kelly Poppinga to lead the BYU football defense entering the 2026 season.
Kelly Poppinga promoted to BYU football defensive coordinator
Poppinga, a member of BYU’s staff for the past three seasons, is being elevated from defensive ends coach/special teams coordinator to defensive coordinator. He replaces Jay Hill, who took the defensive coordinator position under Kyle Whittingham at Michigan.
Poppinga takes over a BYU defense that has been in the top-20 of scoring defense the past two seasons and won 23 games, the most in the 16-team era of the Big 12.
Poppinga’s defensive ends, the position group he coached, produced 152 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, and 6.5 sacks in the 2025 season.
The Evanston, Wyoming native is the third defensive coordinator in the Kalani Sitake era (since 2016).
Poppinga has a strong background as a recruiter, particularly in parts of the country where BYU isn’t accustomed to recruiting, from his time with the Virginia Cavaliers.
In his return to BYU in 2023, Poppinga helped build depth at defensive end into a strength, with players such as Tausili Akana, Hunter Clegg, Devoux Tuataga, Adney Reid, Nehemiah Kolone, Braxton Lindsey, and others.
The BYU alum, who was a member of two Mountain West Conference Championship teams as a linebacker in 2006 and 2007, has been involved in college football coaching since 2009.
He started his coaching at BYU under former Cougar head coach Bronco Mendenhall as a defensive intern in 2009. In 2011, Poppinga joined Mendenhall’s defensive staff as an outside linebackers coach.
During his initial five-year stint at BYU under Mendenhall, Poppinga was instrumental in landing a commitment from Fred Warner, who is now one of the best linebackers in the NFL. Longtime NFL veteran Kyle Van Noy was a player whom Poppinga coached at BYU.
Poppinga followed Mendenhall to Virginia, where he eventually became a co-defensive coordinator with Nick Howell.
BYU’s defense has evolved into a three-man front, and Poppinga is no stranger to it from his time with Mendenhall and on the most recent BYU staff, with former DC Jay Hill.
In his role as special teams coordinator, Poppinga’s unit ranked No. 4 nationally in SP+ in 2024. Then in 2025, they ranked 47th.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast daily on KSL Sports YouTube and KSL NewsRadio (SUBSCRIBE). Harper also co-hosts Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.
Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU athletics in the Big 12 Conference on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @Mitch_Harper.
