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BYU head coach Kalani Sitake leaves the team hotel before the 2024 Valero Alamo Bowl against Colorado at the Alamodome in San Antonio on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024.

Nate Edwards, BYU Photo

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Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald

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How close was BYU to losing Kalani Sitake to Penn State?

Very, very close.

The Nittany Lions thought they had their man. Rumors of a handshake agreement to make Sitake one of (if not the) highest-paid college football coach in the country had BYU fans prepared for the worst.

But he stayed.

Chris Mitton wrote a song about the whole thing called, “He Stayed,” which you can find on social media.

The chorus goes: “If I stay and lift my team … help my staff protect the dream. If I’m here we rise as one … and the school said it would be done.”

It wasn’t the first time another organization made a play for a BYU head coach. LaVell Edwards famously turned down the Detroit Lions during his amazing run in Provo, choosing to stay with his “year-to-year” arrangement for less than the market rate to stay the head coach of the Cougars.

But this was different. This was generational money at a blue-blood program. College football is changing daily because of NIL and the transfer portal and revenue sharing. No one wants to get left behind.

That next move is always in the back of a football coach’s mind. That’s what they signed up for. Sitake has moved six times in his coaching career and that’s on the low end for most guys.

Anyone would be tempted to head to the other Happy Valley. If Sitake was coaching at Penn State and the Nittany Lions were 11-1 with BYU’s current resume, no way they would be 11th in the CFP rankings.

Those are just straight facts.

But he stayed.

Former BYU quarterback legend Steve Young said, “They’re going to have to rip him from our bloody hands,” and he was right.

BYU administration didn’t want to go down without a fight so they addressed every concern Sitake had. What were his concerns? He fought for his assistant coaches and staff. He fought for his players and he fought for more NIL money. Why? Because the path the Cougars are on is working. BYU is 22-3 over the past two seasons and knocking on the door of college football stardom.

That the CPF Committee is pretending they aren’t home doesn’t mean it’s not happening.

When BYU accepted the invitation to join the Big 12 in 2021, I was amazed that the Board of Trustees in Salt Lake City were fine with that move because they had to know what it meant in terms of financial commitment to more resources. Tuesday’s announcement that Sitake was staying means an even bigger commitment to building those resources.

The stakes have been raised.

Frankly, the powers that be in college football are terrified of what BYU can become. The actions of the CFP committee clearly shows that.

Sitake and the athletic department have a vision of excellence and they are still on that road.

BYU fans were also terrified (and rightfully so) of what the departure of Sitake would mean. Who on his coaching staff would he take with him? What players from a Top 20 recruiting class would flip? Everyone knows the pool of coaches who are members of the church is very small. Who would get next?

Cougar fans were probably getting ready to cheer for the continued demise of the 6-6 Kansas City Chiefs to make Andy Reid more available to take the job.

Instead, Sitake stayed.

All of this suggests that Sitake is one-of-a-kind, a unicorn in the cynical world of college football coaching. A true gentleman, a  It’s pretty easy to follow the money in most of these situations and there are those who think Sitake used Penn State’s offer to leverage a better deal for himself.

Instead of leaving the BYU program in shambles, he made it even better and stronger for the future.

A masterful move by any stretch of the imagination.

There is still a Big 12 Championship Game to be played on Saturday and because of the weak and cowardly actions of the CFP Committee, the Cougars need to beat No. 4 Texas Tech to bust their way into the playoffs. It’s their only shot.

At least there’s not a distraction of losing a head coach any time soon. I would think anyone else who considers Sitake as their next target might think twice about this man’s commitment to BYU and what it would take to pry him away.