Penn State Dealt Unfortunate News Amid Coaching Search

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Penn State Dealt Unfortunate News Amid Coaching Search

Kalani Sitake and No. 11 BYU Cougars (11-1) finished the season on a three-game winning streak and will have a chance to not only solidify their College Football Playoff bid but also avenge that loss on Saturday.

As Sitake and the Cougars prepare for another crack at No. 4 Texas Tech, who beat them 29-7 less than a month ago, the program has been dealing with a slew of off-field distractions over the past few days. While Sitake is a BYU alumnus and has been at the helm of the program for 10 years with an 83-44 record, he was heavily linked to the Penn State head-coaching opening, with some insiders even saying it was a done deal that he would leave.

Brigham Young Cougars head coach Kalani Sitake against the Arizona State Sun Devils.Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

With everyone from the CEO of Crumbl to Barstool’s CEO Dave Portnoy taking to social media to beg Sitake to stay, the program announced on X that Sitake won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

“A GREAT day to be a Coug,” wrote BYU on social media.

BYU’s athletic director, Brian Santiago also issued a statement expressing his joy about the extension.

“We are excited to announce a long-term agreement to extend Kalani Sitake as BYU’s head football coach,” Santiago said. “He is a proven leader, and we are grateful he is once again choosing BYU. His legacy of building a championship program the BYU way will continue on. He is one of the best people in the business. We are excited to continue to ride the wave of positive momentum with him.”

While this is great news for those in Provo, fans in Happy Valley have to be feeling shell-shocked.

Penn State, which has missed on Matt Rhule (Nebraska), Eliah Drinkwitz (Missouri), Bob Chesney (UCLA) and Kalen DeBoer (Alabama) will now have to go back to the drawing board.

Related: Top Oregon Assistant Set To Be Named Head Coach At ACC Program

This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Dec 3, 2025, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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