BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said he wasn’t afraid to make changes to his coaching staff ahead of the Big 12. He warned, however, that any changes would come at the end of the season.
Now, less than two weeks after the final regular season game, those changes are coming from two high-ranking staffers.
Associate head coach Ed Lamb will be leaving BYU to become the head coach at Northern Colorado, the school confirmed Tuesday afternoon.
That change was made on top of defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki leaving the program last Sunday.
Once Tuiaki left, it was understood that there would be a shakeup on the defensive staff. However, it was initially unclear if Lamb would follow.
Multiple sources indicated Lamb was involved with the defense, and that Lamb shared responsibility for the unit’s struggles.
Lamb’s formal title was special teams coordinator, associate head coach and safeties coach. He spent a good portion of his time, though, working with the defense.
In the middle of this year, once Sitake assumed play-calling duties and reassigned Tuiaki to the defensive line, Lamb was also reassigned. He stopped working with the safeties, and started to focus more on special teams. This year, the special teams were also a struggle for the Cougars, as longtime kicker Jake Oldroyd was benched for missing six field goals.
Lamb’s departure is significant. He came in with Sitake in 2016 and amassed significant influence in the organization, according to multiple sources. Sitake now has departed from two people, Tuiaki and Lamb, who started with him on the job.
Sitake indicated on Monday that more changes to his staff could be coming. Whenever the new defensive coordinator is hired, Sitake said he will work with him to put his people on the defensive staff. As the move to the Big 12 is incoming, Sitake has increased urgency for BYU to be Power Five ready.
After a 7-5 campaign, an underwhelming year by nearly every metric, he had the green light to make changes.
