Who will BYU Football hire to replace Ty Detmer as offensive coordinator?

With BYU announcing Monday morning that Ty Detmer has been relieved of his duties as offensive coordinator, who will Tom Holmoe and Kalani Sitake go after to replace the former Heisman winner?

With the new early signing period less than a month away, BYU will likely act as quickly and thoroughly as possible in order to salvage and add to the existing 2018 recruiting class.

Here are some potential names that are most likely to be BYU’s next offensive coordinator.

Aaron Roderick- BYU offensive consultant, former Utah OC

A former BYU wide receiver in the 1990’s, Roderick spent 10 years on Utah’s offensive staff before coming to BYU in an unofficial advisory type role this past season. Roderick was Utah’s co-offensive coordinator in 2010 and during the 2015-2016 seasons; his main responsibilities during those season was overseeing the passing game and calling plays.

Roderick’s final season at Utah (2016) ended in a 9-4 finish and over 1,400 rushing yards for Joe Williams, but head coach Kyle Whittingham cited an anemic red zone offense as a reason for firing Roderick.

Roderick wouldn’t be the sexiest or most popular hire, but he one of the favorites to be the new OC due to his relationship with Sitake and recruiting ties in the area.

Fesi Sitake- Offensive Coordinator/QB’s Coach Weber State

The first cousin of Kalani Sitake, Fesi has led a Weber State that is advancing in the FCS playoffs. Under Sitake, the Wildcats are a pedestrian 75th in total offense, but are #15 in the FCS in scoring and have a top 30 rushing attack.

Due to Kalani’s familiarity with Fesi and the relatively low cost it would likely take to hire him, Fesi is another name to keep an eye on.

Paul Peterson- Snow College Head Coach

The most potent offense in Junior College Football? That belongs to Paul Peterson’s Snow College team, who is putting up 50.9 points per game this season.

The former Boston College quarterback has been wreaking having on JUCO teams after tearing it up as offensive coordinator at Sacramento State for 6 years.

Peterson was a graduate assistant at BYU at 2006 and served a LDS church mission.

Peterson is a name many are probably unfamiliar with, but he could end up being a home run hire. With his play calling experience at the college level, innovative offense, JUCO connections (which would be great for recruiting), and familiarity with BYU and LDS culture, Peterson is among the favorites to be the next OC.

Kevin McGiven- Oregon State offensive coordinator

McGiven has been on the Oregon State staff for the past three seasons, including the last two as offensive coordinator. Sitake is familiar with McGiven, being that Sitake was the Beavers’ defensive coordinator in 2015.

McGiven is an Orem native, and was an offensive graduate assistant at BYU from 2002-2004.

With McGiven looking for a new job after Gary Anderson left Oregon State, the timing lines up for McGiven as a strong possibility.

Jason Beck- Virginia QB Coach

BYU fans are very familiar with Jason Beck. The former Cougar QB was the BYU quarterbacks coach from 2013-2015 before moving to Charlottesville with Bronco Mendenhall.

Beck is widely regarded as a bright offensive mind and quarterback teacher (look at what he did with Tanner Mangum in 2015), and he may want to come back west to his alma mater.

Bob Stitt- Former Montana Head Coach

One of the most innovative minds in college football, Stitt was fired at Montana after a 7-4 season. Despite one of the top offenses in FCS and taking over a program that was facing NCAA violations when he arrived, Stitt was let go after just three seasons.

Although he doesn’t have much connection to BYU, he is on the open market right now and is a brilliant offensive mind. If BYU decides to step outside of its comfort zone and take a risk on an innovative offensive mind, Stitt would be an intriguing and potentially very successful choice to pursue. The odds seem very slim of him coming to Provo, however.

Dennis Simmons- Oklahoma Wide Receivers Coach

A former BYU football player in the 1990’s Simmons is tearing it up as wide receivers coach at Oklahoma. Oklahoma has had some of the best receivers in the country over the past few years, and Simmons has played a role in that.

While Simmons would a huge hire for BYU, it seems a little far fetched. He is very comfortable in Norman, and could be biding his time until a more lucrative OC position becomes open.

Jeff Grimes- LSU OL coach

One of the best OL coaches in the country, Grimes has been a OL coach at many respected football coaches. Grimes has been at LSU since 2014, and has had stops at Virginia Tech, Auburn, Colorado, Arizona State, Boise State, and a three-stint at BYU from 2004-2006.

Grimes is making $525k/year at LSU, and they may match any offer BYU would throw at him.

Grimes may be a bit of a long shot due to his current role and money he makes, but he would bring a lot of experience and toughness to BYU’s offense.

Other Long shot candidates

• Steve Sarkisian- The former BYU QB’s name will surely be thrown around, but he is doing a nice job as OC of the Atlanta Falcons. Tough to see someone leaving the NFL for BYU.
• Gary Crowton- Crowton has a lot of experience as a playcaller and gave BYU its lone 12-win season in the past 20 years, but its hard seeing BYU bringing back Crowton to Provo.
• Andy Reid- Yeah, we’ll stop while we’re ahead.