Kalani Sitake praises wife as No. 1 mentor
Speaking to a room full of Utah County entrepreneurs this week, Sitake reiterated the importance of positive mentors. He cited several who shaped his career, including Edwards, Gary Andersen and Kyle Whittingham
Kalani Sitake has loved BYU his entire life. As a young boy, when he and his friends spent Saturday afternoons sneaking into games at Cougar Stadium, he dreamed of playing for BYU — which he did.
Working various football jobs as an adult, Sitake dreamed of coaching at BYU — which he does.
The three-year starter at fullback was on the field when LaVell Edwards won his final game as head coach of the Cougars in a 34-27 thriller at Utah in 2000. Last December, 24 years later, Sitake capped his ninth season as BYU’s head coach with a 36-14 drubbing of No. 23 Colorado in the Alamo Bowl.As for his job with the Cougars, for that, Sitake credits his wife, Timberly.
“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her,” he told the gathering at the Innovation Hub (iHub) on Wednesday. “She doesn’t know a whole lot about football, but she knows everything about me.”
The Call
Sitake’s phone buzzed in early December 2015. It was BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe.
Bronco Mendenhall had just resigned as head football coach of the Cougars, and Holmoe was gauging Sitake’s interest in succeeding him.
Timberly was better prepared for the call than her husband was.
“She said, ‘This is it! This is what we have been waiting for!” said Sitake, who was far less optimistic. “I had already shot myself down, assuming BYU was going to hire Kenny Niumatalolo from Navy.”
Relentless in her efforts, Timberly set out to get Kalani prepared. She had been by his side while he worked jobs at Eastern Arizona (2001), BYU (2002 graduate assistant), Southern Utah (2003-2004), Utah (2005-2014) and Oregon State (2015), and she wasn’t about to let this opportunity slip away without a fight
“I asked them why they didn’t fly me and Timberly to Provo to interview us and show us around like they had done with Kenny and his wife,” said Sitake.
“Tom said, ‘You went to BYU. You played for LaVell. You already know everything about it.’ I said, ‘That is why you are going to make me the new head football coach.’”
Done deal.
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“That’s what my wife told me to say. She is a genius,” he told the group of CEOs and future business leaders.
Then his laughter turned to tears.
“I called her after that, thankful. A lot of times we are really hard on ourselves. It took my best friend to remind me. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here.”
My wife started interviewing me like she was Tom,” Sitake said. “We went on for hours. It was like she had been planning this for a while.”
The following day, Timberly’s question-and-answer prep continued. Even as Sitake drove from their home in Corvallis, Oregon, to Portland to meet Holmoe and Brian Santiago for dinner, she pelted him with every potential question she could think of so he would be ready.
Then she asked for one more.
The Question
“She made me promise I would say something specific to Tom and Brian at the end of our conversation,” Sitake said.
The visit lasted 3 ½ hours. After his second dessert, the moment arrived to fulfill Timberly’s request
