Winning is its own oxymoron. The more you win, the more you stand to lose — especially when it comes to player and coach retention in college football. On the heels of a 12-2 season, No. 12 BYU is losing because of their winning.
Defensive coordinator Jay Hill and cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford have been mainstays in converting the Cougars into a contender. Over the last two seasons, Hill’s defense has allowed less than 20 points per game and Gilford’s corners have helped gather a staggering 39 interceptions.
The fact that new Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham is taking them to Ann Arbor is the smart play. Not only did he go 0-3 against them at Utah, but Whittingham just watched his alma mater win 22 of 26 games, play for the Big 12 title and win the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
Michigan is 17-9 over the same period with a fourth- and seventh-place finish in the Big Ten and an off-the-field scandal that rocked the program to its core when former head coach Sherrone Moore was arrested.
Good coaches of time tested, high character are just what the Wolverines need — and they have committed a budget to back Whittingham’s quest. Hill and Gilford, who both want to be DI head coaches someday, meet that need. Their departures didn’t come without deep reflection, but they do reflect Kalani Sitake’s new reality.
BYU’s secret, once shielded by the majestic Rocky Mountains and tempered by a disrespectful national bias, is out. First, Penn State came to Provo to try and hire Sitake. Michigan followed to pursue two of his top assistants. The two blue bloods came looking for some of BYU’s blue blood and as long as the Cougars keep winning, there are sure to be others.
None of BYU’s success has come by accident. The high-level football being played under Sitake’s watch is a result of high-level coaches who recruit, teach and win with high-level athletes — all bankrolled by boosters — of all levels. That’s how a football team can go from 5-7 in 2023 to 11-2 in 2024 to 12-2 in 2025.
Show me a coaching staff that nobody wants and you will find a program that didn’t win a dozen games in the same season for the first time since 2001 or extend their head coach to a long-term deal or sign the highest-rated recruiting class in program history.
That’s what Sitake has going on at BYU and that’s why the Cougars will survive without Hill and Gilford, and anyone else who leaves for higher pay and a new opportunity. This doesn’t mean BYU shouldn’t fight like crazy to keep their people in place, but so long as Sitake remains the rock, the program’s foundation will withstand the passing storms.
The Cougars response to the departures is expected in the coming days when Sitake announces his new hires. If the growing number of defensive stars recommitting to the program is an indicator, the additions have already been welcomed and are likely to keep the Cougars right on track.
With the transfer portal wide open, BYU has yet to lose an impact player to someone else. That can always change, but so far, the key losses of Hill and Gilford are being quelled by the announced returns of Faletau Satuala, Tre Alexander, Raider Damuni, Siale Esera and Keanu Tanuvasa.
They are back. The two coaches are gone. You win some and you lose some, but in the college game, you tend to lose more often when you are winning. For BYU, it’s a nice problem to have.
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com