What I Know and What I Don't (and some other things)

I am going to preface this newsletter with a very important disclaimer: I have no idea what is happening with Brian Santiago or any of the alleged frustrations between him and Kalani Sitake. Yes, I've heard all the rumors. And yes, people have approached me and said they DEFINITELY know what's going on, only for other people to approach me later with a version of the story they DEFINITELY know is true that contradicts the first. So, no, I don't know what's going on.

In some ways, I think it's newsworthy that I would tell you that I don't know what's going on. In today's society of rumors and social media, everyone has a source and everyone talks with truth. It almost feels newsworthy to say you don't know something, but I digress.

The disclaimer is important, though. I don't want anyone to read this and think I'm reporting news or facts. I'm about to offer an entire newsletter in the form of an op-ed. I'm sharing my opinion. My opinion isn't shaped by my own thoughts, but rather I've let my opinion formed based on things I've been told over years, not just in the last week since the rumor kicked on.

Okay, enough disclaimers. Time to tackle a couple of the questions I've received over the last little bit.

Is Kalani Sitake frustrated with BYU, Brian Santiago, and the overall direction of the AD?

In short, yes, he is.

But that doesn't necessarily mean that Sitake is ready to leave. He was ready to leave in December, that's for sure. Even months removed, I still don't think people fully understand how close Sitake was to leaving BYU.

I mean it was Kaelin Clay catches a wide open pass for Utah and is trotting untouched into the endzone. It was done. The band was playing. The scoreboard had changed. The announcers were breaking down how it happened. It was over. And then all of a sudden, the ball was live and it was a touchdown the other way and nobody realized how it had happened.

So yeah, Sitake doesn't get to that point without being frustrated. It would be silly to pretend otherwise.

Those kinds of frustrations don't go away overnight. BYU got to a point where Kalani was comfortable enough to call off the plane ride, but frustration still lingers, for sure.

But Jeff! I've heard BYU has backed out of their deal and won't give Kalani what they promised!

I know, I have heard that too. But the logical side of me says that isn't true - or at least not as true as it seems on the surface. (By the way, that's an em-dash. I wrote it. This is not an AI-article. I did that em-dash and I'm tired of letting AI usurp its usage for itself. I'm bringing it back. And to prove how serouis I am that I am real, I'm spelling serouis wrong twice. Can't do that, AI.)

I don't know what BYU or Santiago has or has not done that they said they would do. In fact, I don't even know what they said they would do. None of us do. But I do know that BYU moves slowly when it comes to finances, and I do know that the college athletics landscape has changed too. It's entirely possible that BYU pumped the brakes a little bit because they got wind of possible legislation and another $25M player pool.

It's also possible that Santiago, a known basketball advocate, wanted to fund his basketball team in the best way possible. It's possible funds were routed there and not to football. That's entirely possible. I don't know.

But what I do know is that Kalani is frustrated. I know he's still in Provo. I know that most of his roster is also still in Provo. I know that most of his assistants are still in Provo. I know that he hired an analyst from Alabama this last cycle. I know that Aaron Roderick said BYU has enough to be competitive. I know that there are a lot of things happening around the football program that simply cannot happen without investment.

I also know that BYU still has more investing to do.

My point is this: Frustration does not mean that Kalani is ready to burn LaVell Edwards Stadium to the ground. It means he's frustrated. He's a competitive person and sees a chance to compete against the best of the best in the playoff. He wants to win more than you want to watch him win. He wants everything available to him and he wants it now - and he should! (er.. shuold.. not an AI em-dash.)

Santiago, Keith Vorkink, and whoever else is involved with the AD and the finances need to figure their stuff out quickly. Frustration doesn't mean imminent destruction, but frustration left unaddressed can fester into something big. That happened once and it nearly cost BYU Kalani Sitake. They have to ensure that doesn't happen again.

But I do think that we as fans need to stop writing in the conclusion to this story, because the story hasn't concluded yet.

Okay, but is Brian Santiago going to get fired?

That's what the rumors would have you believe, and it's entirely possible that he does. It would be wildly out of character for BYU, but it's possible.

However, I don't think it's likely. At least not imminently. And probably not because of anything we're hearing about on the internet.

Look, there is no shortage of people who dislike Santiago. That has been known for years and years. When he got the AD job, there were plenty of people who are connected to the program who voiced their disdain for the decision. Despite all of the dissent, BYU hired him for the job anyways.

If there is anyone who knows something about knowing what a snake is when you pick it up, it's a bunch of decision makers at BYU. (Come on.. you've all heard that st0ry! That's a great reference in a BYU article.)

But Santiago has to ensure that the main thing is the main thing at BYU. I'm not here to say whether he is putting basketball over football or not. As I've established, I do not know.

But I do know that football better be the main thing.

According to our guy Casey Lundquist, BYU football generated $51.7M in revnue, while men's basketball generated $28M. Women's soccer generated $5M. That means that men's basketball is closer to women's soccer than it is to football (though the margin is much closer than I expected it to be).

The numbers, of course, ignore the fact that the only reason BYU is in the Big 12 Conference in the first place is because of football.

Football drives everything. It drives realignment. It pays for everyone else. It is the lifeblood of the program.

Santiago can love BYU basketball all day long, and he can hope that they become the next Duke or UConn. But no matter how much success Duke or UConn have on the hardwood, their reality is pretty sad: UConn football is a shell of its former self, on life support as an independent, and Duke is an afterthought in the ACC, hoping and praying that the conference holds onto North Carolina and Miami as long as they possibly can.

BYU athletics will not survive unless football is wildly profitable. That's just the reality.

So fund football. If it doesn't matter more than everything else, then nothing else will matter.

So, Santiago might not be out. But what about this Marc Hill hire? Is this a good hire? Kentucky football stinks!

Pretend Kalani left for Penn State. BYU football would be coming off a 12-2 season and looking for a new head coach. Now pretend they hire Bronco Mendenhall to take over the program.

How disappointed are you?

It would be a bummer hire. Bronco could never push BYU over the top. Bronco never pushed Virginia over the top either. Bronco has never won at an elite level. BYU football, as it stands right now, is poised to compete at an elite level. Bronco would be a bummer of a hire.

But now pretend BYU just fired Kalani Sitake after finishing 2-10. Players have left the program and darted to the transfer portal. The program is in disarray and, honestly, it's kind of embarrassing.

How good does Bronco Mendenhall feel in that situation?

What one coach does at one program, or in this case, what one Deputy AD does in one program, does not necessarily mean that is what they will do at the next.

Pete Carrol was fired by the New York Jets and New England Patriots. He was recently dismissed by the Las Vegas Raiders. Three NFL teams thought he was a bad head coach. But he's going to go to the Hall of Fame as a Seattle Seahawk.

Bill Belichick was fired by the Cleveland Browns. Now he's got six Super Bowl rings with the New England Patriots and a 24-year old girlfriend who is a former cheerleader and model. (That's not a good thing, folks. I'M JUST STATING FACTS!)

Marc Hill did not get the Kentucky AD job. After 27 years in the program, Kentucky passed on him and elected to hire someone else. Also, Kentucky football sucks. Why would BYU want this dude?

Well, when Hill took over the Kentucky football program (from an administrative perspective), the program was coming off a 2-10 season. The Wildcats, as a program, had been to 15 bowl games in their entire history. Kentucky had never - NEVER - had a coach stay in Lexington for 10 years. They had won 10+ games in a season just twice, once with a young Bear Bryant in 1950, and a second time with Fran Curri in 1977. Sufficeth to say that Hill was taking over a stinker of a football program.

During his 13 years, though, he had one head coach - Mark Stoops. For the first time in program history, Kentucky had a football coach be successful enough to not get fired within a few years, AND be happy enough to stay in Lexington when others came calling. Football went to eight bowl games during that stretch of time too, more than half as many as the program's total ever. He and Stoops won 10 games twice during their 13 years together. When they moved on from Stoops, the Kentucky job was attractive enough to lure in one of the hottest names in the college football carousel in Will Stein.

Kentucky is not an elite football school, but Kentucky is leaps and bounds better than it was when Hill took over football.

Hill can build. He proved that. Now he is going to a program that is new to the P4 ranks. He knows what the SEC football programs have, and he knows what it takes to compete. He couldn't take Kentucky to championship levels, but he did make Kentucky respectable after decades of being a laughingstock. He did leave the program considerably better than he found it and helped lead the most successful era of Kentucky football era.

Is that not a good thing?

Maybe Hill replaces Santiago one day. Maybe he couldn't take Kentucky to the next level and maybe Kentucky fans are happy he's not there.

But he can build. And he oversaw the best that program has ever seen. And he left the program in a great spot.

If he builds, oversees the best run of BYU football ever, and leaves the program in a better spot than when he arrived... HOT. DOG.

(Quick note if you made it this far: BYU offered Tyce Payne out of Texas. He's a member of the Church, his parents met in Provo, and his grandpa works at BYUtv. He has connections with Chad K and wants to serve a mission. He holds offers from Michigan, Tennessee, K-State and others. Great linebacker. BYU immediately moves to the top of his list now that they've offered. Really good kid.)