Expectations are soaring for BYU’s football team in 2025, and not just because the Cougars went 11-2 in 2024, walloped Colorado 36-14 in the Alamo Bowl and return a lot of the key players from what has to be viewed as one of the best seasons in program history.
Perhaps lost in the euphoria is the fact that head coach Kalani Sitake was able to retain his entire coaching staff, which was no small feat. Several of the assistant coaches, most notably defensive coordinator Jay Hill and defensive backs coach Jernaro Gilford, turned down opportunities to go elsewhere.
“BYU is so blessed to have a man like (Jernaro Gilford) who has been there for nine years. He should be there for the next 20.”
— Former BYU DB Rob Daniel
In Gilford’s case, keeping the former standout BYU cornerback required a promotion. In naming Gilford defensive passing game coordinator on Feb. 7, a promotion that was accompanied by a significant salary bump, defensive coordinator Jay Hill and Sitake sent the message that Gilford is as valued as any coach on the staff.
Mostly known as an ace recruiter who has improved the talent, speed and playmaking ability in the cornerbacks room, Gilford has also proven to be a capable strategist and schemer, Hill said in a BYU news release.
“Jernaro has proved to be one of the top secondary coaches in the country,” Hill said. “Last year, he helped us (develop into) one of the best pass defenses in the nation and lead the country in interceptions. He deserves everything in coaching that comes to him. I love having him on our staff. Jernaro makes our team better every day.”
In 2023, Gilford was a Broyles Award nominee for the nation’s top assistant coach. His rise in the coaching ranks has been slow and steady, and BYU will do well to keep him around for many more years, according to another former standout corner at BYU, Robertson Daniel.
Daniel retired from a career in the NFL and CFL recently, and joined the BYU coaching staff last fall as a volunteer assistant coach. He worked closely with Gilford and the defensive backs while earning his degree in global studies, and hopes to earn a full-time position in coaching in the future.
“BYU is so blessed to have a man like G. who has been there for nine years,” Daniel said. “He should be there for the next 20.”
Gilford earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from BYU in 2004 and a master’s degree in education from Whittier (California) College in 2014. Daniel wasn’t coached by Gilford during his time at BYU, but was immediately impressed by the father of two (Jernaro Jr. and Jru) when he returned to Provo and began helping out with the defense.
“G is the most valuable (assistant) coach at BYU, and it is not close,” Daniel told the Deseret News last month before graduation. “If you want to make some people angry, put that (comment) in the paper. If you want to talk about value, it is not close. That man is so, so valuable to BYU.
“The way he recruits, the way players look up to him, the way they think about him, is (legitimate),” Daniel continued. “Look at the way they respect his word, the way he cares about them. The way he takes time to have those little conversations with them.”
Former BYU cornerback Jakob Robinson concurred, saying before the NFL draft that Gilford was as responsible as anyone for his development into an NFL-caliber defensive back, along with Daniel. Robinson has signed a free agent contract with the San Francisco 49ers after going undrafted in late April.
Robinson was the 49ers’ lone UDFA signing at cornerback, and scribes who cover the club say he has a shot to make the roster.
“I can’t say enough good things about coach G,” Robinson said.
Nor can Daniel, noting that BYU allowed a pass efficiency rating of 105.91, lowest in the Big 12 and No. 3 nationally. BYU gave up just 182.5 passing yards per game in 2024.
“With (Gilford), it isn’t always about football. It is the way he talks to them about school, about what the guys are doing off the field. He invites guys over to his house to eat all the time. He is the most valuable guy in the building, and it ain’t close.”
Daniel said that when he returned to BYU and volunteered to help out with the DBs, he was concerned that Gilford would get a bit territorial. But the opposite was the case.
“The way he treated me when I came in was tremendous,” Daniel said. “You want to talk about a man with no ego, a man who knows what it takes to build a program and know what it is all about, that’s Jernaro. … I came in as a guy who had just retired from playing. He could have said, ‘Just sit there, don’t say much.’ Not Jernaro. He’s not afraid of this or that, of losing his job.”
Gilford told Daniel to jump right in and lend his expertise, especially with the promising young defensive backs such as Tre Alexander III, Evan Johnson, Jonathan Kabeya and Marcus McKenzie.
“Once we met and once we talked ball, he realized that this kid (Daniel) knows ball. He knows what he is talking about,” Daniel said. “From there, he started to mentor me and teach me how to be a coach, even had me take over some meetings. … That’s why last year was such a big year for me being in that building.
“It gave me all the confidence in the world because of G.”
A deeply spiritual man, Gilford thanked “my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” after receiving the promotion in February.
“None of this is possible without Him,” Gilford said. “And I would like to thank my family and friends for always believing in me and keeping me on the right path. I have been fortunate to have the chance to work under the best head coach in college football in Kalani Sitake, and would like to thank him for taking a chance on me 10 years ago.
“These last two years have been a major blessing to be under the tutelage of the best defensive coordinator in the country in coach Hill and prepare me for this opportunity, along with a great defensive staff that works well together.”
