Expect Kalani Sitake To Get Interest From Pac-12 Schools
Nov 10, 2021, 1:15 PM | Updated: Nov 11, 2021, 10:27 am
Brigham Young Cougars coach Kalani Sitake celebrates a field goal in a game against the Utah State Aggies in Logan on Friday, Oct. 1, 2021. (Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)
(Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY – The college football coach carousel is already going to be crazy with multiple Power 5 jobs open like LSU, TCU, Washington State, and USC. Plus, there are a few Group of 5 jobs that are open, and who knows how many other Power 5 jobs could open up.
There is still a lot to happen in coaching search season. One of the names that will garner a lot of interest is BYU’s Kalani Sitake. The 11-1 season in 2020 garnered praise but also some skepticism due to the lack of Power 5 teams on their schedule.
Well, Sitake is proving to everyone he is an elite coach and has the Cougars in the top 15 of all major polls and doing so by losing quarterback Zach Wilson who went No. 2 in the NFL Draft last year and also had hte least amount of returning production in the FBS. Plus, the schedule is much more difficult as it has seven Power 5 opponents and so far BYU is 5-1 against those teams are on track for a sixth as they take on USC in the season finale.
The interest will be there with phone calls made through agents and probably even interviews will be had due to Sitake’s success, and if programs of the caliber of USC call, it would be in his best interest to at least listen to Pac-12 openings.
“I would be shocked if Kalani Sitake doesn’t interview for at least two of the potential openings, including this USC one,” O’Connell said. “There is a lot that makes sense with the way this BYU team is playing and how Kalani and his staff has taken advantage of the transfer portal. They have been gotten some former four-star recruits that land in Provo of all places.
“Everything that is stacked against you trying to get kids to come to BYU is gone when you are at a place like USC. You don’t have to worry about the Honor Code and not quite the same academics. Kalani Sitake is an absolutely incredible person an incredible coach. He would be the right higher for USC, for UCLA, and for Washington, as long as they step back and let him do things his way.”
.@realOCsports explains why Pac-12 schools will have interest in #BYU's Kalani Sitake pic.twitter.com/pPrMpBV5gu
— Unrivaled w/Alex Kirry & Scott Mitchell (@KSLunrivaled) November 10, 2021
How Will BYU’s Move To The Big 12 Impact Inquiries
BYU is going to the Big 12 in a few years and some of the thinking is that going to a Power 5 conference would quash any talk of Sitake going to another Power 5 job. However, jobs like USC, Washington, and possibly even UCLA are better jobs than BYU.
Plus, there is the money factor that the Cougars don’t pay their coaches an exorbitant whereas most Pac-12 schools, specifically those in Los Angeles, could top what BYU offered. Money is a driving factor but it is not the only factor when coaches take a new job.
The Big 12 would provide more money for not just Sitake but also his staff and the entire athletics departament and also he woudl have a new challenge playing a schedule like that have in 2020 but every single year.
There also has to be some pride in Sitake to lead his alma mater into the Big 12 to see what he can do, but the allure of going to USC could be too big to ignore.
At the very least there will be interest for Sitake from other larger programs which could offer things BYU can’t but there are also things that BYU offers that not even the best jobs in the country can come close to matching.
Expect for Sitake to get some phone calls and maybe even interview for one of these Power 5 jobs as his name will be one of the hottest during what will be a crazy coaching search once the regular season ends.
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