College Football Coaching Changes: Ranking the best hires

Sep 20, 2014; Provo, UT, USA; A general view of Lavell Edwards Stadium before the start of the game between the Brigham Young Cougars and the Virginia Cavaliers. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

23. BYU Cougars – Kalani Sitake replaces Bronco Mendenhall

BYU lose Bronco Mendenhall earlier in the coaching carousel season when he accepted the head coaching job with Virginia after 11 years and 99 wins with the Cougars. BYU tried to get Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo but after he decided to stay with the Midshipmen, BYU went to Plan B with former team captain and graduate assistant, Kalani Sitake.

This is the first head coaching job for Sitake who has spent the last seven years as a defensive coordinator. He comes from Oregon State where he had the No. 117 total defense last year but before that spent six years as the defensive coordinator with the Utah Utes, including the last three as an assistant head coach.

He’ll have better results than he had his one year with the Beavers and goes to a very stable program, but he has big shoes to fill with Mendenhall leaving and think living in his shadow could be a tough challenge to sustain his level of success.

Next: Scottie Montgomery