Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young called the departures of coaches leaving mid-season “madness” while on the ”Dan Patrick Show” Tuesday.
Patrick asked Young how he would have felt if his head coach had left before the end of the season.
The radio host specifically referenced Lane Kiffin leaving Ole Miss for LSU, but the question also came in the wake of rumors about BYU’s Kalani Sitake being a strong candidate for the Penn State opening.
“Well, first of all. Something’s really wrong that allowed for this kind of madness,” Young said. “So we’ve got to fix that. I don’t know how to fix it, but you got to fix that. It’s insane.”
What Steve Young said about Kalani Sitake
Rumors of Sitake’s possible departure began over the weekend. On3’s Brett McMurphy, Chris Low and Pete Nakos were the first to formally report on the rumors Monday, as the Deseret News previously reported.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel and NBC Sports’ Nicole Auerbach also both confirmed later on Monday that Penn State was targeting Sitake but a deal between the head coach and the university hadn’t been reached.
Young praised the fit of Sitake at BYU and what he’s accomplished in his tenure.
“It would be super painful. There’s that symbiotic kind of beautiful thing going on between everything BYU and Kalani and what he’s doing and there’s like — I think he has the love for it too," he said.
Young added that “the pain would be pretty extreme” if Sitake left Provo.
“I suspect that everything’s being done on the other side to try to make sure that he stays, but I guess in some ways, Dan, it’s cool that BYU, it enters the Big 12, obviously super competitive, looks like they can do something really, you know, consistently pretty well that Penn State wants our coach. I think that’s a cool thing too in some way,” he said.
Young emphasized that it will be a fight for Penn State to lure Sitake away.
“But don’t be confused. It would be like — they’re going to have to rip him from our bloody hands. That’s the kind of way I think about it," he said.
Sitake addressed the rumors in a press conference Monday, as the Deseret News previously reported.
“... This is a great distraction to have, let’s be honest,” he said. “But you know, right now we need to be focused on making sure that we’re giving our best shot in this game against Texas Tech.”
BYU plays Texas Tech in the Big 12 championship game at 10 a.m. MST on Saturday and would automatically clinch a spot in the College Football Playoff with the win.