BYU coach explains why he turned down Penn State job
BYU coach explains why he turned down Penn State job
Paul White, Nittany Lions WireSun, May 17, 2026 at 4:23 PM UTC
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BYU coach explains why he turned down Penn State job
Penn State made the program-altering decision to fire James Franklin last October and their aggressive pursuit of a new head coach commenced shortly after. Terry Smith, who served as the team’s associate head coach and cornerbacks coach since 2021, took over for Franklin in the interim. He did a solid job in the seven games that he coached, helping the Nittany Lions end the year on a four-game win streak and nearly leading them to victory over the eventual national champions Indiana Hoosiers.
However, it became evident fairly quickly that the school was looking to go in a different direction for a long-term head coach. While they eventually settled on former Iowa State coach Matt Campbell, BYU’s head coach Kalani Sitake was considered their top choice for the job initially. Penn State reportedly offered him a boatload of money, but that clearly didn’t stop him from rejecting the proposition.
Months after Sitake’s decision to accept a contract extension with the Cougars, he finally opened up on what the process was like. He told On3 Sports that, “The decision-making process had to happen almost overnight.”
It sounds like Penn State may have made him a Godfather offer and wanted him to make a decision quickly, but Sitake, “had to decide what I wanted and what I considered compensation for me, and what I was chasing.”
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The 50-year-old head coach would wind up choosing to stay at BYU, prioritizing stability over the exorbitant amount of money the Nittany Lions were willing to throw at him. Sitake went on to cite the support from BYU fans and a lack of recruiting involvement in the areas Penn State is most established in as ancillary reasons why he turned down the offer.
It may have stung at the time, but it’s safe to say this saga turned out just fine for Penn State, as Campbell is on a ridiculous hot streak in terms of recruiting, which has people intrigued by the type of season he can lead the team to. The Nittany Lions may not have gotten the man they wanted at the time, however it looks like they got the coach they needed.
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This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Former Penn State HC target details why he chose to stay at BYU
Source: “AOL Sports”
