Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
PROVO — With arguably the biggest game in program history a week away — a conference championship in a power league and a chance at the College Football Playoff — speculation has swirled around the future of BYU coach Kalani Sitake.
Football Scoop reported Monday that talks between Sitake and Penn State continued to "heat up" since the Nittany Lions fired James Franklin a month ago.
The two sides have continued to discuss the current coaching vacancy, according to the outlet that covers college football and the coaching carousel extensively — even while the 11-1 Cougars are preparing for Saturday's Big 12 championship game against No. 5 Texas Tech (10 a.m. MST, ABC).
Sitake didn't deny the reports during a conference call Monday with Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark and Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire, either, though he said that he's addressed the speculation with his team.
"I have to address it, because the world is small now and people can see stuff on social media and everything," he said. "I'll address it. But they're also used to me saying, this is a good sign and that things are going well for us.
"This isn't about me," he added. "What I've asked our team to do is to be focused on what we're trying to accomplish. There are marks and finishers, and that's what we're trying to do: we're trying to finish the season the right way. It's required of us to be at our best to play against Texas Tech."
Sources: Penn State talks with BYU coach Kalani Sitake heat uphttps://t.co/znWL0siHOv
— FootballScoop (@FootballScoop) December 1, 2025
Sitake's resume speaks for itself: an 83-44 record in a decade at his alma mater, including a 22-3 mark the past two seasons.
The Cougars will play in their first conference championship game since 1998 this Saturday against the Red Raiders (11-1, 8-1 Big 12), putting BYU one win away from an automatic berth in the College Football Playoff.
He's handled name, image and likeness and the transfer portal as well as any coach in college football, and done so while creating a team culture that has allowed BYU to consistently punch above its weight in three seasons in a Power Four conference.
All of this attracted Penn State, which contacted Sitake's representation before the Cougars' regular-season finale against UCF, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
Speculation as to Sitake's future warped into overdrive when Kalshi, a cryptocurrency platform that also trades in sports futures betting, positioned Sitake as a favorite for the Penn State job.
Such speculation increased Sunday night, when a non-commercial flight flew from State College, Pennsylvania to Provo, with a set return time of late Sunday, according to flight logs.
The coaching search was part of a wild day on the carousel, which saw three American Conference coaches move to the SEC after LSU hired Lane Kiffin away from Ole Miss. UCLA also agreed to hire James Madison coach Bob Chesney — another reported Penn State target — Monday morning.
The Cougars were involved in speculation on this carousel cycle before, dating back to UCLA firing DeShaun Foster back in September. Sitake was labeled as a candidate for that job, though he downplayed the rumors at the time.
With Penn State and the latest round of rumors, he didn't deny any reports. BYU athletic director Brian Santiago and other administrators are aware of the situation, several sources confirmed to KSL.com.
"I'm all about the Big 12 championship and keeping the team focused on that," Sitake said. "I'm going to avoid all distractions."
BYU signed Sitake to a contract extension "well into the future" after last year's 10-2 campaign and Alamo Bowl win over Colorado. As a private school and flagship institution of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, BYU is not subject to open-records requests for university employees.
When Santiago was promoted to athletic director to replace long-time mentor Tom Holmoe, Sitake was added — along with women's cross country coach Diljeet Taylor — to the athletic department's senior leadership team as senior associate athletic directors, assisting the department with strategy and impact, per the announcement.
But Sitake said coaching always took first priority.
"The role came because I have a great relationship with our president (Shane Reese), vice president (Keith Vorkink) and our athletic director," he said.
The former BYU fullback admitted the Cougars have compensated him well, attempting to use his trademark humor to address his salary situation.
"I've gained weight. You can tell I'm living a good life," he said with a usual attempt at humor that fell flat Monday morning. "The more Joey buys dinner for me, the better my life gets."
