Kalani Sitake's frustration with AD Brian Santiago feels like a foreboding, gathering storm over Provo

Summers in Provo, Utah are usually pretty nice. The sun comes out, the days are long, and a lot of pasty BYU coeds get sunburned floating the Provo River.

But right now there's an unexpectedly dark, foreboding black cloud hanging over Provo.

The source of that cloud isn't Mother Nature. It's coach Kalani Sitake.

Kalani's original shot across the bow to BYU's administration (i.e. Brian Santiago)

A couple of weeks ago Kalani did something he's not known to do: He turned to the media and vented his frustrations with the perceived lack of resources the football program is getting from BYU's administration. Here's a snippet of Kalani's perspective in a response he gave to Ben Criddle:

It was jarring for BYU fans to hear Kalani talk this way, myself included.

Saying his team has been challenged "to do the most with least" is very blunt. Coach Sitake used the word "frustrating" when describing the current situation. He referenced the "demands" he is making to position BYU on an "even playing field" with even the next level of Big 12 teams below Texas Tech.

He said this was a "reminder to the administration" -- meaning athletic director Brian Santiago -- to enable him to get the right program in place."

Kalani correctly said BYU is "this close" to making the college football playoffs then chided, "C'mon. Let's not make the same mistakes we've made in the past."

And just like that, the sunshine, rainbows, and overall good vibes that have traditionally permeated Kalani Sitake's BYU football program went from sunshine and rainbows to a cloudy, overcast day.

Then earlier this week Kalani was asked to clarify his remarks, and his answer turned a cloudy day in Provo into a tornado warning.

Kalani's non-answers about Brian Santiago gave us an answer

Jackson Payne posted an interview with Coach Sitake in which two important questions were answered. Here's the interview, then what follows is what Kalani said versus what Kalani meant.

Here's the play-by-play analysis of that interview:

Question: "How do you feel about the resources you have, from NIL to facilities to recruiting budgets?"

What Kalani said: "My agent is going to handle all of that stuff...As long as I'm the head coach here at BYU, I'm going to fight like crazy to get this place so they can be a premier program."

What Kalani meant: "I'm highly frustrated with the lack of resources we have compared to our peers. I am going to fight for more resources from Brian Santiago and the athletic department, but I shouldn't have to! Brian and I know what I was promised resource-wise in order to keep me at BYU instead of leaving for Penn State. Promises were made. Promises aren't being kept. Give me the dang resources that we not only need, but we were told we would get!"

Oh, and man was Kalani shrewd by throwing in the line, "As long as I'm the head coach here..."

Sitake has officially put Brian Santiago on notice that while Kalani turned down Penn State, other marquee jobs are going to come up, and he's going to be a candidate. Kalani wants to be a BYU lifer, that's certain, but he's dropping explicit hints that his loyalty can't be taken for granted, and if it is, he'll leave.

Question: "How is your relationship with Brian Santiago?"

What Kalani said: "How's my relationship with everybody? I'm easy to get along with, as long as you just take care of our football team and take care of the boys."

What Kalani meant: "My relationship with Brian Santiago is very strained. If it was good, I would say it was good, but I'm not going to lie about it. I've demonstrated for a long time that I am fiercely loyal to BYU and can get along with almost everybody. But Brian is doing things that are inhibiting the success of my football program, and I shouldn't have to deal with that. I'm done being 'Mr. Nice guy' and am at the point where I'm just going to tell it like it is."

The gathering storm over Provo that nobody wanted or saw coming

For those of us who not only watch BYU football, but follow the program year-round and enjoy the GM-side of the game, this public spat between Sitake and Santiago, as interpreted, is awful. I can only speak for myself here, but I thought everything was great in Provo. I thought that BYU football was finally getting the funding it needed with the program now getting a full-share of Big 12 revenues.

I was wrong.

Kalani Sitake is visibly frustrated with the lack of resources he feels the team is getting from BYU's athletic department, which is led by Brian Santiago. When Kalani chides the "administration", he's chiding Santiago. While Sitake hasn't come right out and said this, it's not unreasonable to conclude that certain promises in terms of resources and investment into the football program were made as a condition of him staying with BYU instead of going to Penn State. Now it's time for the "administration" to step up and do its part.

As a BYU fan, I hate this. I'm not going to turn this into a "Sitake vs. Santiago" celebrity death match and go down the path that only one can stay, and one must go. That's not the right path. Let's not go there. We're all on the same extended "BYU team" here, so my hope is Sitake and Santiago can get aligned. I'm hoping they can chart a path forward that meets both of their needs, with Kalani getting the football resources he needs while Santiago successfully balances that massive football investment with the broader needs of BYU athletics as a whole.

I thought everything was sunshine and rainbows in Provo.

Instead, ominous black clouds have suddenly rolled in, darkening the skies.

Let's hope they part quickly and we can all get back to blissfully floating down the Provo River.

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