Well, folks, here we are. It’s December and Penn State football still hasn’t hired a head coach.

The Nittany Lions closed out their regular season with a 40-36 nailbiter over Rutgers, clinching bowl eligibility. The win was Penn State’s third in a row, coming back from the depths of the Big Ten to a respectable 6-6 record. Even with a bowl game on tap for the Nittany Lions, Terry Smith’s time at the helm feels numbered.

Many high-profile jobs around the country are taken, most notably Lane Kiffin’s departure from Ole Miss to LSU. With Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall taking the Florida job, experts view Penn State’s opening as the best position available.

As per usual, fans took to flight logs for possible direction in the coaching cycle. The Penn State faithful pinned a flight scheduled for 7 p.m. Sunday night from Provo, Utah, to land in State College around midnight Monday morning. This, of course, led to the circulation of BYU head coach Kalani Sitake’s name in Penn State’s coaching search.

It’s possible Sitake has picked up some steam with Penn State fans growing restless by the hour, and Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Pat Kraft needing to make a decision with the transfer portal looming.

Kalani currently has the Cougars ranked No. 11 in the week 15 AP Poll and with a spot in Saturday’s Big 12 championship against No. 5 Texas Tech. BYU is fresh off a 41-21 domination of UCF to close out its regular season, but will it get to ride out a possible College Football Playoff push with its head coach?

History

The Nuku’alofa, Tonga, native was raised in Laie, Hawaii, and Provo, Utah. He played college ball at BYU in 1994 before serving a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Oakland, California. He returned to BYU in 1997 for his redshirt season. From 1998 to 2000, Sitake started three seasons at fullback under head coach LaVell Edwards.

He began coaching in 2001 as the defensive backs and special teams coach at Eastern Arizona. Sitake returned to his alma mater in 2002 as a defensive graduate assistant. He swiftly departed for the 2003 and 2004 seasons to coach running backs, tight ends, and the offensive line at Southern Utah.

Sitake’s first long-term coaching stop came at Utah, where he served as the linebackers coach from 2005 to 2008. He was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2009 and named assistant head coach in 2012.

His work in Salt Lake City led him to jump ship to be the defensive coordinator and associate head coach at Oregon State in 2015. He only spent one year with the Beavers before returning home to Provo to coach his alma mater ahead of the 2016 season. Sitake’s led the Cougars ever since.

Sitake has led BYU to an 83-44 record in his time as head coach ahead of Saturday’s Big 12 championship game. He pioneered BYU’s transition from an FBS independent program to the Cougars’ induction to the Big 12 conference in 2023.

Sitake’s Cougars have remained competitive amongst the top 15 teams in the nation the last two years. BYU finished No. 13 in the AP Poll in 2024 with a Valero Alamo Bowl victory over No. 23 Colorado. His bowl record sits at 5-2 with the Cougars.

Sitake’s produced 13 NFL draft picks in his time as BYU’s head coach. Notable Cougar draft picks in Sitake’s tenure include 2021 No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson, Los Angeles Rams All-Pro wide receiver Puka Nacua, and San Francisco 49ers All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner.

Is It Realistic?

Considering that Sitake is currently spearheading a possible College Football Playoff campaign with his alma mater, it probably isn’t entirely realistic. If he were to take Penn State’s job in the next few days, it’s likely he’d have to leave BYU immediately, missing out on the Big 12 title game as well.

The move simply doesn’t make sense when considering Sitake’s emotional and lifelong ties to Provo and BYU’s program as a whole. Raised in Provo, played college ball for the Cougars, graduate assistant with them, and now BYU’s tenured head coach with games still left to play. Who would want to leave their dream situation?

However, money talks. Sitake is making approximately $3 million per year at BYU, on the shallower side for a Power Four head coaching gig. Kiffin’s reported deal with LSU would compensate him well over double digits per year, and Penn State’s financial situation correlates with the Tigers’ more than the Cougars.

If Kraft throws the money at Sitake, who knows if he can turn the deal down? He’d bring an immediate cultural shift and take the reins of a historic Big Ten program. But would he be willing to let go of his roots to lead the Nittany Lions in 2026 and beyond?