BYU Football Coach Mentioned As Potential Candidate For Hawaii Vacancy
Jan 15, 2022, 12:00 PM
BYU assistant head coach, special teams coordinator and safeties coach Ed Lamb talks with head coach Kalani Sitake as the BYU Cougars and the Idaho State Bengals play at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021. (Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News)
(Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News)
PROVO, Utah – The latest turn in the college coaching carousel has a BYU football coach as a potential target.
Hawaii is looking for a new head coach after Todd Graham resigned on Friday night. Graham was under pressure after former players expressed concern for the direction of his program in a Hawaii State Senate hearing earlier this month.
So the Rainbow Warriors need a new head coach. BYU assistant head coach Ed Lamb was brought up as a potential candidate by ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg.
Hawai'i will begin its search for Graham's replacement immediately. BYU assistant head coach Ed Lamb finished second for the job two years ago. https://t.co/idwdxgImob
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) January 15, 2022
According to Rittenberg, Lamb “finished second for the job two years ago” when the Rainbow Warriors ultimately hired Graham to replace Nick Rolovich. Rolovich left to take the Washington State job and has since been fired at Washington State due to not complying with the COVID-19 vaccine mandate in the state of Washington.
The state of Hawaii has been Lamb’s recruiting territory since he joined BYU’s staff in 2016. A BYU alum, who played under the legendary LaVell Edwards, Lamb has been coaching college football since his playing days at BYU concluded in 1996.
Before joining Kalani Sitake’s staff at BYU, Lamb was the head coach at Southern Utah from 2008-15, guiding the Thunderbirds to two conference titles. In addition, Lamb led SUU to two of their three appearances in the FCS Playoffs. He also had a knack in Cedar City for turning under-the-radar prospects into NFL draft picks.
Along with his role as an associate head coach, Lamb is involved with the defense as safeties coach and is the special team’s coordinator. Lamb’s background in special teams stems from his time as the Special Teams Coordinator at the University of San Diego on Jim Harbaugh’s staff.
Lamb might not be the only coach linked to the Hawaii coaching search with BYU ties. Syracuse offensive coordinator Robert Anae is another potential candidate. The former BYU National Champion as a player and longtime offensive coordinator was a target for Hawaii in their 2020 search.
Anae recently was hired by Dino Babers to join the Orange staff after Bronco Mendenhall announced that he would step down as the head coach at Virginia in December.
With Hawaii’s head coach position now open, the 2022 college football season will see 29 new head coaches. That’s one shy of the record set in 2013 when 30 programs made coaching changes.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
