BYU football coach Kalani Sitake has emerged as a leading candidate to be the next Penn State coach, according to FootballScoop.com.
The 50-year-old Sitake, a native of Tonga, has had multiple conversations with Penn State director of athletics Pat Kraft over the past 10 days, according to the website.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSitake has guided BYU to an 83-44 record in 10 seasons, including 11-1 this season. Its most impressive win was a 24-21 decision over in-state rival Utah.
The 11th-ranked Cougars finished the regular season last weekend with a 41-21 victory over UCF, which gave them a berth in the Big 12 title game Saturday against No. 5 Texas Tech in Arlington, Texas.
Sitake started at fullback at BYU for three seasons (1998-2000) for Hall of Fame coach LaVell Edwards.
He began his coaching career at Eastern Utah and continued at BYU as a graduate assistant, Southern Utah, Utah as linebacker coach and then defensive coordinator and Oregon State as defensive coordinator for one season before BYU hired him as head coach in 2016.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Cougars rank seventh nationally in scoring defense, 29th in total defense, 22nd in scoring offense and 42nd in total offense.
Sitake’s salary is reportedly in the $3 million range, plus bonuses and incentives. Penn State paid James Franklin, who was fired on Oct. 12, about $8.5 million per year, plus bonus and incentives.
Sitake signed an extension last year with BYU through the 2029 season.
If Sitake ends up taking the Penn State job, it was unclear if he would coach BYU in the College Football Playoff if the Cougars beat Texas Tech to qualify. The Red Raiders handed the Cougars their only loss with a 29-7 victory last month.
James Madison coach Bob Chesney, a Pennsylvania native, was also thought to be considered by Penn State for the vacant job, but reports Monday indicated that he’s going to take the UCLA job.
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