Kalani Sitake Named BYU Head Coach: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction
Brigham Young University couldn't reach an agreement with Navy's Ken Niumatalolo after it offered him the head football coaching gig, but the program didn't waste much time finding an alternative to replace former head coach Bronco Mendenhall.
BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe said after the loss to Utah on Saturday that the team named Kalani Sitake head coach, per Matthew Piper of the Salt Lake Tribune. Sports Illustrated's Thayer Evans was the first to report the news.
Sitake, 40, graduated from BYU in 2000 and was a key member of Utah's defensive coaching staff before taking the defensive coordinator job at Oregon State.
According to the Deseret News' Jeff Call, Niumatalolo may not have been the Cougars' top choice:
""I'm not sure Kenny was the guy they wanted. They were slow at every turn," said a source close to the Niumatalolo camp who spoke under the condition of anonymity. "At the end of the day, I think (BYU athletic director) Tom (Holmoe) was nervous throughout the entire process and it showed. Maybe they have their guy out there. It felt like they extended a contract that was fine but you didn't get a good feeling on a lot of different things."
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But BYU didn't just hire a former player and graduate assistant to lead the team into the future.
"This is the first Tongan head football coach in major college football," former Cougars running back Reno Mahe said, per the Deseret News' Dick Harmon. "BYU has just turned the tide on the Polynesian pipeline. The whole Polynesian community is cheering him on."
Reports of Sitake's hire came on the same day the Cougars were slated to square off against the Utes in the Las Vegas Bowl after finishing the regular season 9-3.
Sitake will inherit the nation's 31st-ranked scoring defense and should be positioned well to succeed upon arrival if he can implement the principles that made him a household name at Utah.
With a solid foundation in place on both sides of the ball, Sitake has the resources to keep BYU's run of 10 straight winning seasons rolling.
