After past success, a college football team that dips below .500 — regardless of the circumstances — is likely to see coaching changes at the end of the season. It’s too much of a results-based business to do otherwise.

It only took two days for BYU head coach Kalani Sitake to make some decisions about the direction of his staff after the Cougars saw their season come to a close with Saturday’s 40-34 2OT loss at Oklahoma State.

BYU assistant athletic director for football strategic communications Brett Pyne confirmed on Monday that neither Cougar offensive line coach Darrell Funk not tight ends coach Steve Clark would be returning for the 2024 season.

Funk joined BYU in 2021 after traveling all over the country during his 36-year coaching career (including stops at Michigan and Purdue) and in 2022 under his direction the Cougar offensive line ranked No 1 (PFF, 92.0) in pass protection grades overall and ranked No. 10 in the NCAA statistics for the least sacks allowed, averaging one per game.

The line lost three of its five starters for the 2023 season and although BYU brought in transfers from Utah, Oklahoma State and Utah State, the Cougars rarely seemed to have the cohesion it needed to be consistently successful.

Clark had been part of the BYU staff since 2016, working with three different offensive coordinators (Ty Detmer, Jeff Grimes and Aaron Roderick).

He has coached football since 1994 with other college stops at Utah, Weber State and Southern Utah.

Perhaps his most notable achievement came in 2020 after All-America candidate senior Matt Bushman got hurt in fall camp. Clark helped Isaac Rex become a 2020 Freshman All-American who finished No. 3 in the nation in receiving touchdowns (12), which tied for No. 1 among tight ends. Rex is now BYU’s all-time leader in touchdowns by a tight end with 24.

The Cougars only had three seniors on the offensive line, all of whom were transfers (Paul Maile, Ian Fitzgerald and Simi Moala) although juniors like Kingsley Suamataia, Connor Pay and Brayden Keim could choose to forgo their final year of eligibility.

BYU had no senior tight ends, although Rex could also choose to conclude his time in Provo and look to make the jump to the NFL.

Former BYU players, however, were quick to defend their former position coach on social media.

“Trust me, Coach Clark was not the problem… Such Bull S***,” Masen Wake posted on his X account, @MasenWake13.

Houston Heimuli posted on his @HHeimuli account: “Hopefully not Clark, I loved that coach and he really taught me technique that I used during the last 3 games when I finally got to play. He also went to bat for me multiple times.”

At this time, the Cougars appear to plan on retaining all other assistant coaches, according to reports.

Although the BYU defense certainly had plenty of issues, the majority of the coaches on that side of the ball just completed their first year and were likely going to be given time to get things corrected.

The other offensive coaches — Roderick, Fesi Sitake and Harvey Unga — had previous successes (including getting multiple players to the NFL) and dealt with missing many of their top players for large stretches of the season.

The decision-making process that goes into retaining or releasing assistant coaches is often more complicated than outside observers realize.

While on-field performance is certainly a huge element, it is not the only factor that a head coach and athletic director will take into account when charting a course for a team.

BYU will now start considering replacements for Funk and Clark as it turns its attention to getting ready for 2024.

Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo

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