BYU head coach Kalani Sitake talks to officials during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/George Frey)

Message boards and media tracking the Penn State coaching search have mentioned a “mystery candidate” in the past couple of weeks. That appears to be Brigham Young’s Kalani Sitake.

Football Scoop, which has tracked college sports hirings for years, reported Monday that talks between Sitake and Penn State are “heating up.”

The report added, “the talks are real,” and have taken place between PSU athletic director Pat Kraft and Sitake and his representation “multiple times” over the past 10 days.

Penn State has been looking for a new coach since firing James Franklin on Oct. 12.

Sitake is in his 10th season at BYU, and he’s compiled a record of 83-44. The Cougars, ranked No. 11 by the Associated Press, are 11-1 this season and face No. 5 Texas Tech in the Big 12 championship game on Saturday.

During a press conference Monday, Sitake was asked about the PSU rumors, and he didn’t run from them.

He said he plans to address the situation with his team.

“This is a great distraction to have, let’s be honest,” he said. “I have to address it. The world is small now, and people can see stuff on social media and everything. So yeah, I’ll address it, but also, they’re used to me saying, ‘Hey, (coaching rumors are) a good sign that things are going well for us.”’

Sitake, 50, tried to keep the focus on winning the Big 12.

“This isn’t about me,” he said. “What I’ve asked our team to do is to be focused on what we’re trying to accomplish. There are marks of finishers, and that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to finish the season the right way, it’s on us to be our best to play against Texas Tech. So as we go through this week and go through the prep, I also want them to live through all the moments and have a great experience and not waste a moment thinking about anything else.”

One potential challenge of Sitake to Penn State is timing.

The early signing period is Wednesday through midnight Friday. Penn State has already lost most of its commitments and plans on rebuilding its roster through the transfer portal, which opens Jan. 2 for two weeks.

Should Brigham Young win the Big 12, it will advance to the College Football Playoff. The Cougars lost to Texas Tech, 29-7, in a Nov. 8 meeting.

Under Sitake, BYU has been especially successful in the last two years, going 22-3. The Cougars joined the Big 12 in 2023.

It’s been reported that he’s earning approximately $3 million annually, substantially less than Franklin’s annual $8.5 million salary.

Sitake grew up in Hawaii and played high school football in Missouri. He was a fullback at BYU. Before becoming a head coach, he was a graduate assistant at BYU and then served stints as the defensive coordinator at Utah and Oregon State.

He signed a contract extension a year ago through the 2030 season.

Another name linked to the Penn State job, James Madison head coach Bob Chesney, accepted UCLA’s vacancy on Monday.