The Kalani Sitake to Penn State smoke is very real, BYU's coach could leave soon

If you'll forgive me, I'd like to open this article with a cliche. Where there's smoke, there's fire. In clearer terms, if everybody is talking about something, there is probably some substance to all the chatter. In the case of BYU football coach Kalani Sitake, rumors of his potential departure to become the head coach of Penn State are making the air in Provo nearly carbonized beyond inhalation.

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It all began with a flight log from Provo to State College in Pennsylvania. Then betting services got involved and boosted the odds of Sitake assuming the mantle of Penn State head coach. That's when the entire internet caught flame and why I no longer have fingerprints from typing on an scorching and fire-engulfed keyboard.

Once On3, ESPN, and other major news sources confirmed the buzz was much more than purely internet rumors, all hell broke loose.

Penn State offers one of the most desirable head coaching chairs in the nation, with resources, prestige, and a tradition of winning football, Kalani Sitake's option to leave is nearly as attractive as Mark Pope's temptation to part the surging BYU basketball program for a vacancy in Lexington.

Understandably, the ceiling is higher in Happy Valley, as Sitake's chances of breaching the exclusive College Football Playoff and competing for a national championship are considerably higher in Penn State's navy blue than in Brigham Young's royal.

Paired with what was rumored to be an "unmatchable" payday, BYU's grip on their alum's head coaching position began to slip with every passing minute, with every passing story, and with every word shared.

But then something happened.

BYU's donors began to arrive in droves. It was like the final scene of Avengers: Endgame (spoilers) when a million portals opened, and every hero returned for a life-or-death battle for the ages. Wads of cash thrown via clenched fists. Internet warfare between informed sources and the uninformed observer. Crumbl Cookies were catered at the battlefield.

Related: Penn State's shot at BYU's Kalani Sitake 'Crumbl's' with pledge from major donor

The winds changed, and the storm began to settle. From the ashes of the furnace sprang a Cougar Tail and the voices of support began to flood the landscape from Barstool's "Provo Dave" Portnoy to Crumbl's Jason McGowan, the support from Cougar Nation had never been more audible, more visible, or more sincere.

Facing the potential end of an era, BYU football didn't grin at the thought of moving forward without Kalani Sitake.

So now, here we sit. At the intersection between tremendous relief and crushing demoralization, BYU football faces its toughest test of the season in a Conference Championship rematch with Texas Tech University.

No one knows the next step of the Kalani Sitake saga, but we do know this. Stay or leave, Kalani will always be one of the greatest coaches -- and one of the greatest men -- in BYU football history.