Could Kalani Sitake be a candidate for UCLA? BYU head coach responds to speculation

PROVO — Stop us if you've heard this before: a Big Ten school in Southern California has a coaching vacancy, and a tenured coach in Utah who happens to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints could be a target.

No, Lincoln Riley hasn't moved on from USC (at least, not yet). But when the Trojans' crosstown rival UCLA fired head coach DeShaun Foster after just 1.5 years and the program's first 0-3 start since 2019, it didn't take long for early speculation for the Bruins' next head coach to cast its eyes towards the Wasatch Front.

This time, it's Kalani Sitake's turn.

The former BYU fullback was one of five early candidates penned by ESPN to replace Foster, who was just 5-10 during his UCLA tenure including a 43-10 season-opening loss to Utah and a 35-10 loss to New Mexico in Saturday's finale.

"He's fairly established at his alma mater and would need some assurances — beyond the Big Ten membership — to leave a good situation in Provo," wrote ESPN's Paolo Uggetti and Adam Rittenberg. "But Sitake is also in his 10th year at BYU and might want to restart his clock."

For his part, Sitake said during his weekly conference call with local media prior to Saturday's road tilt at East Carolina (5:30 p.m. MDT, ESPN2) that his focus was strictly on "what we're doing right now as a program." He owes at least as much to his players, he added.

"These guys need me to be focused on East Carolina more than anything else," Sitake said. "I've told them to avoid any distractions that come along the way. Distractions come in a lot of different forms, so we're going to avoid distractions — stay humble, keep working hard, and try to do our best when we show up this weekend against East Carolina.

"Other than that, just try to keep focus on the young men. We have amazing young men and an amazing culture in the program, and I just want to make sure that we stay focused on that. But I'm always down to talk to the boys about whatever they want to talk to me about."

Sitake, 49, is a proud alumnus of BYU who played for legendary head coach LaVell Edwards and received a strong recommendation by the College Football Hall of Famer to be the next head coach prior to his passing in 2016.

He's now 74-43 as an FBS head coach, and has navigated BYU from independence to a home in the Big 12, including last seasons' 11-2 mark — the Cougars' third double-digit win season in five years.

In a late-night announcement following the 2024 regular season, BYU extended Sitake "well into the future." Details of the contract weren't released by the university — and as a private school owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, BYU is not subject to state-mandated public information requests.

But former athletic director Tom Holmoe backed Sitake for the long-term, and his successor Brian Santiago has followed suit.

"Kalani is the leader of the staff and players that gives us reason to celebrate," Holmoe said.

Santiago, a former Provo High basketball star who played collegiately at Utah Valley and Fresno State, went even farther than his former mentor.

"Football drives the ship," he said. "There's nothing more important at BYU than our football program. We have an exceptional head coach. This is an exceptional human being and exceptional leader, and the staff that he's put around him is exceptional. That's driving the ship."

Now a decade into his head coaching career, Sitake — whose coaching experience resides primarily in the state of Utah, including nearly a decade as linebackers coach, defensive coordinator and assistant head coach at Utah under Kyle Whittingham — has established himself as a top coach and recruiter on the west coast.

The chance to coach a Big Ten program — and the resources that come with it — could be enticing.

But Foster made $3.25 million per year in 2024, according to the USA TODAY coaching salary database, and Sitake's contract at BYU is perceived by many to be above that, according to several sources who have spoken to KSL.com on condition of anonymity because they are not approved to discuss coaching salaries.

The Bruins' athletic deficit also ran a deficit of nearly $50 million last year, a debt that was partially covered by a $30 million subsidy from the university, according to the LA Times. The school's commitment to name, image and likeness and revenue sharing has also been called into question.

"Next coach? Better story is who would take that job?" one industry source told On3's Brett McMurphy. "Chip (Kelly) ran for a reason. Terrible administration, no resources, they're getting crushed, no NIL and currently no chance to compete in Big Ten football."

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