The coaching carousel has finally slowed to a crawl. But one domino remains tantalizingly upright in State College, Pennsylvania. BYU head coach Kalani Sitake has emerged as Penn State’s top target to replace the fired James Franklin. The program is reportedly prepared to offer Sitake a contract approaching $10 million annually, more than triple his current $3 million salary. But there’s a massive problem waiting for him that has nothing to do with money or resources.​​

College football analyst Landon Tengwall laid out the issue bluntly on social media: “If Kalani Sitake comes to Penn State, it may be difficult for him to bring a lot of BYU’s players with him. Of the 85 scholarship players on BYU in 2024, 55 of them already completed a 2-year mission trip as members of The Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints. 

“The point of the post is that a lot of these guys go to BYU because of religious reasons. Not only would it be hard to pull them for geographical reasons, but religious reasons play a big role, too.”

In other words, even if Sitake wanted to bring a handful of his best players to Pennsylvania through the transfer portal, he won’t be able to. Because the religious and cultural ties that bind these athletes to BYU run far deeper than any coach-player relationship.​​

That religious component is what makes BYU fundamentally different from nearly every other program in college football. It creates a unique recruiting and retention dynamic that Sitake has leveraged masterfully during his decade in Provo. 

Besides the family legacy, players like Andrew Gentry, who transferred to BYU from Michigan, also chose the Cougars because of their affiliation with the LDS church. Gentry serves as a counselor in his young single adult ward at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, along with playing football. He has said he wants to be known first and foremost as “a returned missionary and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ”.

That said, Sitake’s decision is yet to be set in stone. Yet, an update by Barstool Sports’ Liam Blutman on Monday night was enough to send BYU fans into panic mode.

“Sitake is speaking to family and will sleep on the decision between BYU and Penn State,” Bluntman wrote on X. “Belief is he will decide in morning. BYU’s first meeting today that was cancelled was gonna be ‘I’m taking another job.’ He cancelled, and players swiftly asked him to stay. BYU spent the day working on their ‘Miracle’… they made their best offer.”

“Both BYU and Penn State believe he is signing with their school,” he informed in another tweet. “What was once 99/1 is now pretty much a 50/50 Both programs have made incredible offers that are extremely difficult to turn down Personally, I love Sitake. I can’t even imagine how difficult of a time he’s having choosing. Rooting even harder for him than I already have and hoping tons of success continues to come his way.”

However, when Sitake was asked directly about Penn State on Monday, he deflected it. He said he wants to “avoid all of the distractions” and focus on Saturday’s Big 12 championship game against Texas Tech. But the clock is ticking. Penn State fans are left wondering if the head coach will ultimately choose faith and familiarity over fortune.​​

BYU’s booster launches campaign

When it was reported that Penn State was zeroing in on Kalani Sitake, BYU’s wealthiest donor didn’t waste time. They took the fight public on social media. Leading the charge was Jason McGowan, CEO of Crumbl Cookies and a prominent BYU alum. He posted a message that sent Cougar Nation into mobilization mode, “Some people are not replaceable. Sounds like it is time for me to get off the sidelines and get to work.”

McGowan followed up by asking BYU fans directly, “Why do you love Kalani? What does it mean to you to have Kalani Sitake as our head coach at BYU?” and encouraged them to flood social media with their favorite memories of the coach. Moreover, to increase participation, he offered 50-yard line tickets and airfare for the Big 12 Championship game at the AT&T Stadium to the two best responses.

This isn’t McGowan’s first rodeo. You might remember him from earlier this season. After BYU’s win over Utah, the fans rushed the field, and McGowan offered to pay the field-storming fine. That fine was never imposed. So, McGowan paid off lunch debt for all schools in the Provo and Salt Lake City school districts instead. Now he’s using that same public generosity playbook to create support and convince Sitake to stay.​