Coming off the football program’s worst season in nearly a half-century, BYU continues the reshaping of its offensive coaching staff.
The Cougars announced Wednesday evening that Kalani Sitake has added three assistant coaches -- Aaron Roderick, Fesi Sitake and Ryan Pugh. Roderick has been given the title of passing-game coordinator; the other two weren’t given specific titles and were simply described as offensive assistants, with responsibilities presumably forthcoming after a 10th assistant is added around Jan. 9.
“I have worked on the same staff with Aaron for 12 years, so I know first-hand how Aaron’s versatility and experience will be a tremendous asset to our staff,” Sitake said in a statement. “He brings valuable play-calling and coordinating experience and his ability to teach the game is impressive. As we all know, Aaron played here (1996-98) as well so I’m happy to welcome Aaron back to BYU.
“Fesi is one of the game’s up-and-coming young coordinators. He has done a great job with his opportunities to build a strong resume and improved his team wherever he has been. He is an excellent recruiter and excels as a mentor to his players. I’m excited to have him come to BYU and help teach the young men in our program.
“Ryan is an impressive young coach with great leadership qualities and a championship mindset. Jeff (Grimes) coached Ryan as a player at Auburn, where he was an All-American center. Ryan knows well what Jeff strives to accomplish as a coach, having not only played for him, but also coached alongside him already at Auburn, Virginia Tech and LSU.”
The last job for Roderick, a BYU graduate, came at Holy War rival Utah in 2016, where he served as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Sitake was the coordinator at FCS Weber State the past two seasons, while Pugh spent that same timeframe as the line coach at UT-San Antonio.
Three weeks after putting the finishing touches on a 4-9 season, the lowest point for the program since a 3-8 1970 campaign, BYU hired LSU line coach Jeff Grimes as its new coordinator. Grimes replaced Ty Detmer, who was fired in late November after directing an offense that was 123rd (out of 129 teams) in scoring and 118th in yards.
