BYU football coach Kalani Sitake hit a couple home runs with his first two coordinator hires after his inaugural season at the helm in 2016, bringing in Jeff Grimes as offensive coordinator to replace Ty Detmer after the 2017 season and Aaron Roderick to replace Grimes after the 2020 season.
“He will always be family to me and to so many others. I know he will continue to have that kind of impact as a coach as he takes on his next challenge.” — BYU coach Kalani Sitake on departing DC Ilaisa Tuiaki
Will he swing for the fences again in 2022, after seven-year defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki resigned following a tumultuous 2022 regular season in which the Cougars’ defense regressed significantly? Or will he settle for a single or double, and promote from within?
Shortly after Tuiaki’s heartfelt messages surfaced on social media channels Sunday night acknowledging that he was moving away from BYU, speculation ramped up on his possible successor.
Because the Cougars are moving to the Big 12 in 2023 and there is significantly more money available to pursue a top-notch DC, Sitake should have plenty of options available to him.
Athletic director Tom Holmoe has acknowledged privately to several sources that BYU is ready to pay Power Five prices for veteran, established coaches, which is a departure from the BYU norm. Sitake was given that assurance last December when he signed an “unprecedented” new contract after a 10-2 regular season.
It would behoove Sitake to move quickly because the new transfer portal window opens Dec. 5, and also because BYU is still in the middle of assembling its 2023 signing class. Recruiting of high school prospects, transfer portal entrants and even their own roster to prevent transfers is in full swing for the coaching staff.
And it should be noted that when coordinators move on, the new coordinator is often given free rein to bring in his own staff, so the remaining defensive coaches on BYU’s staff are in limbo right now as well. That can’t be good for recruiting.
However, BYU rarely moves quickly on new hires, so don’t expect the school to rush a new coach into place just to satisfy the aforementioned reasons.
Sitake expresses thanks
A few hours after Tuiaki’s resignation via Facebook and Instagram, Sitake posted a statement via the BYU Football Twitter account thanking his seven-year defensive coordinator for his contributions to the program.
Here it is:
“It’s not possible for me to express my true appreciation for Ilaisa and what he means to me as a friend, brother and coach. Not only have we coached together more than a decade, but he and his wife Viola and their kids are like family to me and Timberly.
“I can’t offer enough thanks to him for all he has done to help build our football program as our defensive coordinator the past seven years. His dedication is unquestioned and his trustworthiness is unmatched. He is completely selfless in how he handles everything he does.
“I have seen how much of an impact Ilaisa has had on the lives of the players he has coached and how much he genuinely cares about them and about their well-being. He will always be family to me and to so many others. I know he will continue to have that kind of impact as a coach as he takes on his next challenge.”
Will Sitake promote from within?
On to the candidates. First, Sitake has to at least consider a couple of coaches on his current staff.
Assistant head coach, special teams coordinator and safeties coach Ed Lamb is making coordinator money, presumably, and Sitake has a lot of trust in Lamb and could theoretically ask the former head coach (Southern Utah) and defensive coordinator (Idaho, 2002-03), University of Redlands (1998-2000) to take over Tuiaki’s role.
Like Lamb, current linebackers coach Kevin Clune is not a member of the faith that sponsors BYU — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — but that is not a prerequisite for coordinator and assistant coaching positions at BYU, obviously.
When Sitake was assembling his original staff in early 2016 after replacing Bronco Mendenhall, sources close to the coach told this reporter that Sitake’s first choice would be Clune, who was Utah State’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 2015.
Clune has also been a DC at Oregon State, Hawaii and Memphis, briefly. When it became possible for teams to have 10 assistant coaches, Sitake hired Clune in February 2021 as linebackers coach, after Clune had spent much of the 2020 season as a volunteer defensive analyst for the Cougars.
Other possible candidates
• Boise State assistant head coach and defensive line coach Frank Maile
After spending five years as Utah State’s assistant head coach, and serving as USU’s interim head coach, Maile has to be considered one of the top candidates for BYU’s opening — if he wants it. An Alta High graduate, Maile is a Latter-day Saint and obviously familiar with BYU’s unique recruiting challenges. He has some Power Five experience, having been at Vanderbilt (2014-15) as a defensive line coach.
Sitake might have to wait on Maile until after Boise State’s bowl game; the Broncos’ defense gave up 31 points to BYU a few weeks ago, but has otherwise been outstanding and is in the top 10 in the country in total defense and scoring defense.
- San Jose State defensive coordinator Derrick Odum
Odum has no direct ties to BYU, other than having been a two-sport athlete at Utah (football and baseball) from 1989-92. He also coached at Utah State (2000-2002) and with Sitake at Utah (2005-07) and is said to be extremely close to BYU’s head coach. Most recently, the pair coached together at Oregon State in 2015.
Odum’s defense at bowl-bound San Jose State is ranked 25th in the country in total defense, giving up just 333.0 yards per game.
- Stanford defensive coordinator Lance Anderson
Twelve-year Stanford head coach David Shaw’s resignation following the Cardinal’s 35-26 loss to BYU on Saturday likely means that Anderson, who was a fringe candidate to replace Mendenhall at BYU in 2015 because he is LDS, will be looking for a new job as well.
Stanford’s defense was a mess in 2021 and 2022, but a lot of that can be attributed to injuries and recruiting and transfer portal restrictions at the school, Shaw has said.
- USC defensive line coach Shaun Nua
Nua played for the Cougars and began his coaching career at BYU under Mendenhall in 2010-11. He has also been at Navy, Arizona State, Michigan and has been a part of USC’s rise this past season under new Trojans coach Lincoln Riley.
Nua has never been a defensive coordinator, but is widely considered a fast-riser in coaching circles.
- Boise State co-special teams coordinator Kelly Poppinga
Another former BYU football standout with ties to the Mendenhall era, Poppinga has been on Boise State’s staff this year and been a part of the defense’s turnaround after a rocky start.
Poppinga accompanied Mendenhall to Virginia in 2016, and was the Cavaliers’ co-defensive coordinator for four years in Charlottesville. Articulate, gregarious and a solid recruiter, he deserves to be considered.
- Arizona defensive ends and outside linebackers coach Jason Kaufusi
The brother of former BYU defensive line coach Steve Kaufusi is somewhat of a longshot due to no prior defensive coordinating experience. But he’s said to be an outstanding recruiter, has experience at Power Five programs, and is obviously familiar with what BYU has to offer as a former University of Utah player BYU graduate assistant.
Correction: The original version of this article stated that Jason Kaufusi was the nephew of former BYU defensive line coach Steve Kaufusi. Jason and Steve Kaufusi are actually brothers.
