Kalani Sitake, Kyle Whittingham Mentioned As Potential Candidates For Washington Job
Jan 12, 2024, 2:58 PM
PROVO, UT - SEPTEMBER 11 : Both Utah and BYU head coaches Kyle Whittingham (left) and Kalani Sitake (right) have players earning first round NFL draft buzz for 2023. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
(Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
SEATTLE – ESPN College Football Senior Writer Pete Thamel gave a list of coaches who could potentially be in the running for a position at Washington and named both BYU’s Kalani Sitake and Utah’s Kyle Whittingham.
Thamel also mentioned Kansas’ Lance Leipold, Arizona’s Jedd Fisch, Iowa State’s Matt Campbell, UNLV’s Barry Odom, Kansas State’s Chris Klieman, Wake Forest’s Dave Clawson, and Washington’s current assistant coach Ryan Grubb.
Washington will be an attractive job. Officials there — for now — won’t have any college market competition. Quick list (no order): Lance Leipold, Jedd Fisch, Matt Campbell, Ryan Grubb, Barry Odom, Chris Klieman, Kyle Whittingham, Dave Clawson, Kalani Sitake.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 12, 2024
The head coaching position at Washington will be a coveted one.
Coming off of a National Championship appearance, the future looks bright for the Huskies in the Big Ten Conference.
However, there will still be challenges. In addition to facing better competition in a bigger conference, Washington is losing some of its best players to the NFL Draft.
This includes quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and wide receiver Rome Odunze who are both projected to go in the first round.
THANK YOU HUSKY NATION #PurpleReign @themikepenix pic.twitter.com/Uj1i0X9Pmk
— Washington Football (@UW_Football) January 5, 2024
Thamel’s report came after it was announced that former Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer accepted a job at Alabama.
DeBoer will replace Nick Saban following his retirement announcement.
RELATED: Alabama Coach Nick Saban Retiring After Winning 7 National Titles, According To Reports
Former Washington HC Kalen DeBoer has been hired as @AlabamaFTBL‘s next Head Coach, per @BruceFeldmanCFB pic.twitter.com/nWa8wg6EAL
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) January 12, 2024
The Cougars will go into their second year as a member of the Big 12 in 2024 and have a chip on their shoulder following a 5-7 inaugural season.
The Utes decided to jump ship and join the Big 12 Conference following 13 years in the Pac-12.
With big things on the horizon for both BYU and Utah, it’s unlikely that Sitake or Whittingham decide to pack their bags and head for the Pacific Northwest.
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Chandler Holt is a co-host for the Jazz Notes podcast and a Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter @ChandlerHoltKSL or on Threads @chandlerho1t.
