Sitake already better than Mendenhall in one area

PROVO — Bronco Mendenhall was an excellent coach at BYU, resurrecting a downtrodden program and restoring integrity almost overnight, but he fell far short in one area that his successor has greatly succeeded.

With regard to public relations, Kalani Sitake can hold his own with any college coach. Compared to his predecessor at BYU, Sitake is a dream come true.

No matter how much Mendenhall tried to improve in that area, which he did, the current Virginia coach never seemed comfortable interacting with rabid BYU fans. His public appearances tended to be stiff, sometimes exacerbated by the fan base’s inappropriate interjections.

In less than six months, Sitake has connected with what seems like every BYU fan. From Sitake’s decision to sit among the students during basketball games to his appearances at the fanfests and his easy nature during fireside devotionals, the former BYU running back already is the most beloved coach since LaVell Edwards.

Interestingly, his message almost mirrors the same mantra Mendenhall sold. Only this time it is presented in simple, rather than stilted, language.

In an email letter BYU sent to fans on behalf of Sitake, the greeting was “What’s Up Cougar Nation?” Hard to imagine Mendenhall authorizing such a casual salutation.

But the letter mimics Mendenhall’s emphasis on the university’s foundation. In part, it read: “We would like to take this opportunity to tell you how much we appreciate your support to the program. We could not do what we do without each of you.

“We will compete passionately and play with honor. We will work hard to put a product on the field that you will be proud of.”

To further the cause, with Ty Detmer as offensive coordinator, the BYU faithful have never been this giddy about two football coaches on the same staff. If Sitake isn’t BYU’s best representative, it is only because of Detmer’s presence.

With his easy-going Texas nature, Detmer appears to have no enemies on the planet. The next time he rejects an autograph or picture request will be the first time.

Even if the head coaching position had remained the same, the trade of Detmer for former offensive coordinator Robert Anae was enough to make BYU fans feel warm and fuzzy.

It’s worth noting here that I enjoyed covering Mendenhall and Anae, finding both of them to be candid and easy to work with. Both are outstanding football coaches and should again find success at Virginia, but their connection with the BYU fan base was a work in progress, to put it mildly.

So now that BYU again is one big, happy football family, what does it all mean? Surely, the affable nature of the coaches, including several new assistants, will pay dividends.

Will Snowden, who played at BYU and now runs camps for high school players, is involved heavily in recruiting and said it all comes down to relationships. This is an area in which the BYU coaches are expected to excel.

With Utah gaining traction in the Pac-12, along with other programs in the conference regularly recruiting in the state, BYU has a much more difficult job trying to attract highly touted players to play for a team that has no league affiliation. Multiple coaches at Utah have said the new staff won’t make much of a difference as long as BYU is an independent, but Sitake and company so far have identified and aggressively pursued outstanding high school talent. The task now is to close the deal.

“It’s a whole new world down there,” Snowden said. “I want to be clear I’m a Bronco guy; I’ve always supported Bronco Mendenhall. I think he’s one of the better coaches, and I think we’ll see that at Virginia.

“But I think BYU, they’ve made all the right decisions with the coaching staff. And now I’m interested to see how they put it all in place. But I think a lot of kids will be committing and signing with the Cougars because of the coaches they have.”

One more reason to make BYU fans smile.

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