LAS VEGAS — Standing in massive Allegiant Stadium, and not far from the iconic Las Vegas Raiders logo at midfield, former San Francisco 49ers defensive back and defensive backs coach Tom Holmoe had just shared a lot of laughs with Deion Sanders, whom he coached for one season in San Francisco , before a less-than-humorous topic was broached.
What's the BYU athletic director's assessment of the current state of head coach Kalani Sitake's football program? And what are its prospects for a turnaround season in 2024, after the first year in the Big 12 skidded to a 5-7 record?
First, Holmoe gave Sitake a vote of confidence, of sorts, as was reported Wednesday by the Deseret News.
"I have had a number of people ask me that," Holmoe said. "I say Kalani is our coach. I like him."
But that doesn't mean Holmoe likes coming off a losing season, only the second nonwinning season in Sitake's eight years .
"This is going to be a very important season," he said. "Expectations are high. It is the Big 12. I think the first year some people are like, 'OK, first year, understandable.' But there are people who say, wait, we didn't go to a bowl game, which is unacceptable. And I think they have the right to think that way."
Holmoe acknowledged there were times last season when players didn't execute the game plan, when the game plan left something to be desired, and when the opposing teams in the Big 12 simply had more talent, or were coached better on that particular Saturday.
"I wouldn't try to come up with a reason," he said. "Every situation is different. There are a lot of variables at play."
But Holmoe knows football, perhaps as well as any athletic director in the country , having been Cal's head coach from 1997 to 2001.
"I have been away from coaching a long time. But I am still in the game a lot. I am still a part of what (the program) does," he said. "I like the things that they are doing. I have seen changes made from last year. I think the way they have identified the things that went wrong last year has been good."
Holmoe credited the coaching staff for doing a thorough review of the 2023 season, identifying what went wrong, and then attacking it head on.
"The review was hard. We made a number of changes personnel-wise, staff-wise, and with the strength staff and in the training room, in a lot of areas," he said. "I think they took a hard look at themselves and looked in the mirror and said, 'We gotta make some changes.'"
He said the changes began during winter conditioning and carried on through spring ball.
"I like what I see so far," he said. "I think we are where we need to be at this point. But I know anything can happen in a game, and in the end you gotta have better players than the other team."
As has been widely reported, Sitake and his staff didn't hit the transfer portal as hard as they did the previous offseason, instead opting for continuity and consistency. Coaches are banking on player development to carry the day, rather than an infusion of talent.
"Key reasons as to why we weren't at our best have been addressed," Holmoe said.
Sitake told the Deseret News in June that he and Holmoe have a great relationship and he turns to the athletic director often for mentorship and advice.
"Tom's a football guy, through and through," Sitake said.
Colorado State of the Mountain West announced last week that it has scheduled a future football series with the Cougars , reuniting the former conference foes. The Cougars will play in Fort Collins on Sept. 19, 2026, and CSU will return the trip on Sept. 8, 2029.
Of course, Utah State is also in the Mountain West, and when BYU received an invitation to join the Big 12 in 2021, it had to take some folks off its schedule, including the in-state rival Aggies . Naturally, there was considerable disappointment in Logan over the CSU announcement.
Holmoe said he has spoken to new USU athletic director Diana Sabau "and it is something that we are trying to look at, to see if we can do."
However, BYU's AD explained, scheduling is complicated.
"Well, a lot of it has to do with that week. And who is there," he said. "Sliding Utah State into a week is not always easy. Utah State two years ago probably already had somebody scheduled (for 2026). They are not sitting there waiting to get BYU. It just doesn't happen in a slot like that. If we were to play them, it would be down the road, because we are so booked on games, and we didn't book them down the road."
Holmoe acknowledged that BYU still needs to add a Power Four conference team to its 2025 nonconference schedule to satisfy a league requirement. BYU is scheduled to open against FCS Southern Utah on Sept. 6, 2025, and travel to Group of Five foe East Carolina on Sept. 20.
He said they are "close" to finalizing an agreement with a Power Four school.
"It hasn't been announced yet, but we will do that pretty soon," he said.
That's another complicated scenario, Holmoe said. The Cougars are at SMU on Sept. 6, giving them a rugged two-game stretch before they host Kansas State on Sept. 21 in Provo.
BYU offensive lineman Blake Freeland (71) blocks against Wyoming during a game, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022, in Provo, Utah. The Cougars will face the Cowboys Sept. 14 in Laramie. | Rick Bowmer, Associated Press
He said the bottom line is that after BYU got the Big 12 invite and began canceling games later in the season, there were only two or three choices for a Week 3 game, and the existing deal they had with the Cowboys was the best option.
"We went with both of them back-to-back on the road. There was a reason for that. It might not be a good reason, but I think it is kind of the lesser of two evils," he said. "Utah is playing Baylor this year in a game that is not a conference game. That's odd. But the conference let them do it because it is not a rivalry game.
"We couldn't do that, because it is a rivalry game (with Utah)."
