It’s been one week since BYU defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki announced that he had coached his last game as BYU’s defensive coordinator. One week later, BYU is still in the market for a new defensive coordinator and, in turn, a new defensive staff.
On Sunday evening, a report from Boise State beat writer BJ Rains indicated that former Kelly Poppinga is expected to leave Boise State for a position at BYU. Poppinga is a BYU alumni and former BYU coach that left Provo to go to Virginia in 2016 when Bronco Mendenhall became the head coach of the Cavaliers.
The report from Rains did not indicate which position Poppinga would be taking at BYU. Poppinga has been linked to BYU’s vacant defensive coordinator position, but he would also be a candidate to join BYU’s staff as a position coach. It’s standard procedure to make the coordinator hire first, then allow the coordinator to help hire the rest of the staff. So if Poppinga is being hired as an assistant coach, it’s safe to assume that BYU has zeroed in on its defensive coordinator and is beginning to fill out the defensive staff.
A few years after concluding his playing career at BYU, Poppinga coached linebackers and special teams at BYU from 2011-2016. He recruited and coached up some of the best linebackers in BYU history like Kyle Van Noy, Fred Warner, and Sione Taki Taki. He also coached standout linebackers like Alani Fua and Jordan Pendleton.
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Regardless of the position, getting Poppinga back on staff would be a big boost to BYU’s recruiting as it heads into the Big 12.
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