Dear Coach Sitake,

As the new head coach of the BYU football team, I'm sure you've received tons of advice. Here are five more pieces of counsel from a lifelong Cougar fan that maybe you'll get around to when you get your head above water.

Don't make decisions based on what fans want

Cougar fans aren't much different than any other college football fan base in the nation. For BYU fans, the backup quarterback is the favorite player on the team, the offensive coordinator's play calling is "too predictable," the defense is too "soft," and the Cougars should go for it on every fourth down.

In short, the average BYU fan (just like most college football fans around the nation) doesn't know a quarter as much football as you do. To make decisions in an effort to appease fans would be a colossal mistake. There's a reason why you are making seven figures to coach the team and they are not.

I would also recommend not looking at fan message boards and discourage your family from doing so as well. Fan boards might be the most irrational place in the universe and after you lose a game for the first time, there will be people calling for your head. People feel free to write nasty comments on message boards because their anonymity protects them from any repercussions. Stay away from that negativity and encourage your players and loved ones to do likewise.

While fans can be annoying, don't alienate them

Fans can be a major pain in the neck and can be very fickle. Legendary head coach LaVell Edwards was routinely booed in the final years of his career. Likewise, your predecessor Bronco Mendenhall was booed in his first game as a coach after deciding to punt late in a game. Fans can come across as ignorant and ungrateful. You don't have a responsibility to win every single one of them over because even during the golden age of BYU football, some fans still complained everything was too yellow.

Still, though, do not alienate fans. You know very well that their support is conditional and they will turn on you in a heartbeat. Don't make the mistake Mendenhall made by admitting this out loud. When you talk about the fans, be grateful for their willingness to pay their hard-earned dollars and view their criticism as showing they are passionate. Whatever you do, don't question fans' intelligence like Mendenhall did when asked about benching Max Hall. Mendenhall's strained relationship with BYU fans seemed to wear him down. Fans can make your life difficult, so be careful how you interact with them and what you say about them.

Treat the Utah game as a rivalry

Overall, Mendenhall's philosophy of treating every game the same was a benefit to the program. On "Inside BYU Football," he compared his players to Spartan warriors who didn't care about who the opponent was. He won a lot of games on this concept as head coach. However, this mindset proved to be unhelpful against the Utes as Mendenhall went a paltry 3-7 against Utah and lost the last five contests between the two foes. In most of those matchups, the Cougars were favored. But in almost every game against Utah, Mendenhall's teams came out flat, even in victories. You need to treat the rivalry game against Utah differently because it is different; you know it, your players know it, and fans know it.

Feel free to not acknowledge Utah State as a rival, though — it's a little bit fun to see how their fans react to that.

Have a good relationship with the media

Edwards was a master with the media. He rarely said anything controversial or gave opposing teams bulletin-board material. When asked difficult questions, he dodged them as gracefully as a running back sidestepping a would-be tackler.

Still, the media loved him because he was congenial with them. He'd often crack little jokes or give humorous anecdotes that eased tension and warmed media members up to him. Like fans, the media can make your life a nightmare. The media often get to tell the story about your program and set the popular image of you as coach. Learn how to deal with them in a positive way. Your former coach can teach you a lot about how to handle the media.

Become friends with the Honor Code department

The workers in the Honor Code department are not the most popular people on campus. Just as college football coaches and players resent the NCAA acting as "Big Brother," many in Provo have similar feelings about the Honor Code department. Develop a working relationship with the staff in the Honor Code department. When they bring concerns to you about specific players, follow through and investigate their claims. When necessary, discipline your players. The better relationship you develop with the Honor Code department, the more leash you will receive in working with your players and helping them get in line with the school's standards.

In closing, you have a very difficult job but it can also be a great job. Most of all, continue to show the humility you exhibited in your first press conference and you will be all right.

Dylan Cannon is a regular KSL.com contributor and can be reached at DylanCannon86@gmail.com or via twitter @DylanCannon11.

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