Fire Kalani

[Northwestcoug]

Quick, fire him before he can quit!

[BlueK]

Quick, fire him before he can quit!

You mean fire him before he can beat Utah again.

[wally]

You mean fire him before he can beat Utah again.

of course there are silver linings here for Ute fans!!

[Bo Diddley]

Great article about Kalani on the college football front page at ESPN.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/49611879/college-football-2026-byu-cougars-kalani-sitake-cfp

So glad we have him for our head coach, and wonder how close we ever got to letting him go. Perhaps we should continue to count the blessings of having Tom Holmoe as our AD through those many years.

[SteelBlue]

Great article about Kalani on the college football front page at ESPN.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/49611879/college-football-2026-byu-cougars-kalani-sitake-cfp

So glad we have him for our head coach, and wonder how close we ever got to letting him go. Perhaps we should continue to count the blessings of having Tom Holmoe as our AD through those many years.

I love me some Tom Holmoe but one thing I don't get is why he doesn't get heat for Kalani and his coaches being so underpaid. Yes, Santiago inherited the Penn State crisis but he didn't have time to cause it. There has to be more to the Santiago thing than not providing the same resources the beloved Tom Holmoe didn't provide.

[Donuthole]

Great article about Kalani on the college football front page at ESPN.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/49611879/college-football-2026-byu-cougars-kalani-sitake-cfp

So glad we have him for our head coach, and wonder how close we ever got to letting him go. Perhaps we should continue to count the blessings of having Tom Holmoe as our AD through those many years.

Kalani was legit bad his first few years at BYU. I’m glad he grew into the role. He probably would have been fired at almost every other P5 program, but BYU doesnt like paying guys to not work for them. So he got a longer leash and he has made the most of it.

I think we have learned that he is a great person, and he connects with people on a level that makes him a great fit as the head coach and figurehead for the football program. But he is not the Xs and Os guy, and his teams will only ever be as good as his coordinators are. There are plenty of head coaches like this, and it’s not a dig—but it’s something that has to be accounted for. Kalani knows this. It’s why he really needs the program to pay coaches better. We saw how the offense just struggled under Detmer. And how the bend and then break defense bent and broke repeatedly under Tuiaki. In neither situation was Kalani able to step in and make adjustments. Those units did not improve until new, better coordinators were secured.

PS That’s only on the front page of ESPN for you because you are a BYU fan. Now you know.

[Bo Diddley]

Kalani was legit bad his first few years at BYU. I’m glad he grew into the role. He probably would have been fired at almost every other P5 program, but BYU doesnt like paying guys to not work for them. So he got a longer leash and he has made the most of it.

I think we have learned that he is a great person, and he connects with people on a level that makes him a great fit as the head coach and figurehead for the football program. But he is not the Xs and Os guy, and his teams will only ever be as good as his coordinators are. There are plenty of head coaches like this, and it’s not a dig—but it’s something that has to be accounted for. Kalani knows this. It’s why he really needs the program to pay coaches better. We saw how the offense just struggled under Detmer. And how the bend and then break defense bent and broke repeatedly under Tuiaki. In neither situation was Kalani able to step in and make adjustments. Those units did not improve until new, better coordinators were secured.

That was easy to see from the very beginning. I'd say Kalani understands the defensive side of the ball unless KW was covering for him at Utah.

PS That’s only on the front page of ESPN for you because you are a BYU fan. Now you know.

I just tested this by turning on the VPN to an overseas location, opened Edge because I never use it, went into private mode, and this was still running as the top story. It gave me the Disney cookies window.

[frank ryan]

I love me some Tom Holmoe but one thing I don't get is why he doesn't get heat for Kalani and his coaches being so underpaid. Yes, Santiago inherited the Penn State crisis but he didn't have time to cause it. There has to be more to the Santiago thing than not providing the same resources the beloved Tom Holmoe didn't provide.

I think Holmoe forced the Detmer hire from some things I've heard

[BlueK]

Kalani was legit bad his first few years at BYU. I’m glad he grew into the role. He probably would have been fired at almost every other P5 program, but BYU doesnt like paying guys to not work for them. So he got a longer leash and he has made the most of it.

He's for sure gotten better. I also think at least part of his problem was that overall, Bronco's recruiting kind of fell off a cliff his last few years.

[falafel]

That was easy to see from the very beginning. I'd say Kalani understands the defensive side of the ball unless KW was covering for him at Utah.

I just tested this by turning on the VPN to an overseas location, opened Edge because I never use it, went into private mode, and this was still running as the top story. It gave me the Disney cookies window.

DH Bo

That was a great article. Thanks for linking Bo.

[Green Monstah]

I think DH is right about KS’s tenure at byu re: Xs and Os. I’ve heard he’s really the chief culture officer of the program.

[Bo Diddley]

I think DH is right about KS’s tenure at byu re: Xs and Os. I’ve heard he’s really the chief culture officer of the program.

That's not a bad way of describing him. Kalani often talks about trying to be like LaVell and how LaVell was about people. Obviously, LaVell was also a much more innovative X's and O's coach. He was a pioneer who fundamentally changed BYU football. I think of Kalani more as the steward of the culture LaVell built. His job isn't just to coach football. He's being back the identity of BYU football.

[Green Monstah]

That's not a bad way of describing him. Kalani often talks about trying to be like LaVell and how LaVell was about people. Obviously, LaVell was also a much more innovative X's and O's coach. He was a pioneer who fundamentally changed BYU football. I think of Kalani more as the steward of the culture LaVell built. His job isn't just to coach football. He's being back the identity of BYU football.

I don’t think LaVell was actually innovative (i.e. I don’t think he was involved much in offensive scheme and play design). Based on a few things I’ve read, he hired innovative coaches and got out of their way. But I also lived on the east coast and saw a game or two between 1985 and 1994, so I may be way off.

[Bo Diddley]

I don’t think LaVell was actually innovative (i.e. I don’t think he was involved much in offensive scheme and play design). Based on a few things I’ve read, he hired innovative coaches and got out of their way. But I also lived on the east coast and saw a game or two between 1985 and 1994, so I may be way off.

That would only make Kalani more like Lavell. But when Lavell got there in the early 70's, he saw that BYU couldn't compete with smashmouth football and needed to go with the pass game. I would say he was the original innovator. Then he was able to get a great supporting cast of coaches. The obvious difference is Lavell's stoic disposition vs. Kalani's emotional personality.

[Green Monstah]

Even during that horrific 2017 season, I feel like I got a glimpse of what Kalani was trying to build.

I love where we're at, even if the last two seasons end up being the high water mark.