PROVO, UT - SEPTEMBER 25 : Kalani Sitake head coach of the BYU Cougars greets fans as he runs down the tunnel to the field for warmups before their game against South Florida Bulls September 25, 2021 at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
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The upcoming season is ultra-important
for BYU, and not just because the Cougars will be playing their 100th season of college football. The program is still trying to find its footing in the Big 12, after winning just two league games last year.
It’s also a pivotal year for BYU head coach Kalani Sitake, who is a respectable 61-41 in his eight seasons at the helm, but has had two non-winning seasons and is facing another extremely difficult schedule in 2024.
In December 2021, Sitake signed what athletic director Tom Holmoe called an “unprecedented contract” that will take him through the 2027 season. So his job is fairly secure, but another rough year could mean more staff shuffling, which the coach told the Deseret News a few weeks ago takes years off his life.
Kalani Sitake: ‘The Protector’ puts family, Cougars under his wing
BYU winning more recruiting battles than ever before, for a variety of reasons
“After eight seasons, considering we went from independence and are now transitioning into the Big 12, I feel like we are in a good spot,” Sitake said in a wide-ranging interview. “There is always room to get better and things to improve on. But if you are looking at the entire spectrum of the job, I feel like we are in a really good spot.”
Sitake said the program is in a “much different place” than it was when he took over in 2016 for departed coach Bronco Mendenhall, who is coming out of retirement this fall to coach the New Mexico Lobos.
“It is hard to compare now to then,” Sitake said. “I am going into my ninth year as a head coach, so that changes things, too, just being a little more experienced. And now, just having experience around me and having (defensive coordinator) Jay Hill with me, who has been a head coach for nine years, and a guy that I worked with for a decade at Utah.
“With (offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick) involved fully, and all that, I feel good about where we are at. I like the talent on our team, and the development that we can do. We just needed to go through some growing pains in year one in the Big 12, and I feel like we will be able to capitalize on that experience.”
Here are more questions that Sitake answered earlier this month in a one-on-one sit-down interview with the Deseret News. Some answers have been edited for clarity, context and length:
On the difficulty of releasing great friends Ilaisa Tuiaki and Ed Lamb two years ago, Steve Clark and Darrell Funk last year, and BYU legend Ty
