Kelaokalani Fifita "Kalani" 'Sitake (born October 10, 1975) is a Tongan–American football coach and former player who is the head football coach at Brigham Young University.
Sitake played college football as a fullback for BYU under coach LaVell Edwards, graduating in 2000. He played professionally briefly in the National Football League before suffering a career-ending injury. As a coach, Sitake has held assistant coaching positions at BYU, Utah, Oregon State, EAC, and SUU. In 2016, he became the head coach for BYU, where he has (as of the end of the 2025) led the Cougars to four 10-win seasons. His .648 win record places him among the top 20 active FBS coaches in total victories. He is the first Tongan to become a collegiate football head coach, and he was inducted into the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame in 2025.
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Early life
Sitake was born in Tonga. His family immigrated to the United States when he was a child, living in Laie, Hawaii. He went to high school in Kirkwood, Missouri.
College career
Sitake began his BYU playing career in 1994 prior to serving a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Oakland, California. After returning and redshirting in 1997, Sitake was a three-year starter at fullback for BYU from 1998 to 2000 under hall of fame coach LaVell Edwards. He was named BYU's Football Scholar Athlete of the Year in 1998, helped BYU to the first Mountain West Conference championship in 1999, and earned BYU's Impact Player of the Year in 1999. In 2000, Sitake was named team captain and BYU's most valuable running back. He completed his career amassing 373 yards rushing on 86 carries (4.3 yards per carry), and 536 yards receiving on 62 receptions for one touchdown. Sitake earned a B.A. degree in English from BYU in 2001.
Professional career
Following his collegiate career, Sitake signed a free agent contract with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2001. His career ended due to a back injury.
Coaching career
Assistant coaching roles
Sitake began his coaching career in 2001 when he worked as the defensive backs coach and special teams coordinator at Eastern Arizona College. In 2002, he returned to his alma mater, BYU, as a graduate assistant for the defense. From 2003 to 2004, he coached at Southern Utah, coaching the running backs and tight ends in 2003 and the offensive line and tight ends in 2004.
In 2005, Sitake was hired at Utah, where he began as linebackers coach. He was promoted to defensive coordinator on December 7, 2008, replacing Gary Andersen, beginning his formal duties on January 3, 2009. Sitake became the first native Tongan named as a defensive coordinator at an NCAA FBS team.
On December 23, 2014, Oregon State announced that head coach Gary Andersen had hired Sitake as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach. Sitake had previously worked under Andersen while at Utah.
Head coach at BYU
On December 19, 2015, after Bronco Mendenhall left BYU to become the head coach of Virginia, Sitake was hired as BYU's head football coach. He is the 15th head coach in BYU football history.
Sitake's first game as a head coach was September 3, 2016 against Arizona at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. BYU won 18–16, giving Sitake his first win as a head coach. BYU then lost three games in a row, for a 1–3 start before winning four games in a row, including a road victory at Michigan State and a homecoming overtime win against Mississippi State. BYU finished the regular season at 8–4 and were invited to play in the Poinsettia Bowl, where they defeated Wyoming 24–21. BYU finished 2016 with a 9–4 record.
In 2017, BYU took a major step back, starting the season 1–7 before finishing with a record of 4–9. It was BYU's first season to not be bowl eligible since 2004. After the season, Sitake fired offensive coordinator Ty Detmer and hired Jeff Grimes in his place.
In 2018, BYU improved upon the previous season. On September 15, 2018, BYU achieved a major upset by defeating Wisconsin on the road, 24–21, with Wisconsin ranked 6th at the time of the game. After a 3–3 start, Sitake benched quarterback Tanner Mangum and began starting freshman Zach Wilson. BYU closed the regular season with a loss at Utah, which was Sitake's third straight loss to the Utes. BYU finished the regular season with a 6–6 record, becoming bowl eligible after being ineligible the previous season. They were invited to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, where they defeated Western Michigan 49–18, finishing the season with a 7–6 record.
Sitake's fourth season continued to build on the the previous year. The Cougars opened the season with a 30–12 loss to Utah, Sitake's fourth in four seasons. However, the loss was immediately followed by signature wins at Tennessee and against #24 USC. Starting quarterback Zach Wilson missed five games due to a broken thumb and was replaced by backups Jaren Hall and Baylor Romney. After the inital success, BYU regressed and finished the regular season with a 7–5 record. Before the end of the regular season, Sitake received an extension from BYU through the 2023 season. BYU received an invitation to the Hawaii Bowl, where they lost to Hawaii, 34–38. It was Sitake's first bowl game loss of his career.
Personal life
Sitake has a bachelor's degree in English from BYU. He is married to Timberly Friddle of Florida, whom he met while the two were both students at BYU. They have four children. Sitake is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the sponsoring institution of BYU. He left college for two years to serve as a missionary of the Church in Oakland, California.