By Greg Woodman, Connect Happy Valley
When Lane Kiffin walked away from Ole Miss for LSU in the middle of a playoff chase, the country finally saw the truth. The old leadership model in college football, the ego-driven, resume-first, mercenary coach, is collapsing. It does not work in the NIL era. It does not work in the transfer portal era. It does not work with today’s athletes or today’s communities.
And then, in the same week, BYU delivered the antidote. Kalani Sitake stayed.
BYU kept him not with theatrics or desperation, but with leadership. Their Athletic Director understood the value of a rooted servant leader. Their donors aligned. Their fans rallied. Their players expressed trust instead of fear.
Sitake staying was not just a football decision. It was a national message that the future belongs to culture-first leaders and servant leaders.
This was a win for BYU.
This was a win for the sport.
And if we are willing to learn from it, it is a roadmap for Penn State.
Penn State once wrote this very roadmap long before it became fashionable in college football. Our community stands on values built around service, humility, loyalty, and team-over-self. These principles shaped generations of players and defined what it meant to wear blue and white. This is why lettermen, parents, donors, and students are crying out so emotionally to the Athletic Director and Penn State leadership. They recognize the values in Terry Smith because they are the values Penn State taught them. They are not asking for a trend. They are asking for a return to who we are.
The Servant-Leader Model Is Winning Everywhere
Look around college football. The coaches building strong and durable programs are the ones building strong and durable cultures.
Marcus Freeman at Notre Dame brings humility, emotional intelligence, and a family-centered approach. Players stay and recruits connect because they trust the man running the program.
Dan Lanning at Oregon is steady, clear, staff-first and ego-last. His culture is built on accountability and belonging.
Kalen DeBoer at Alabama wins everywhere he goes. He leads with calm confidence, systematic thinking, and authentic connection.
Kalani Sitake at BYU is a masterclass in servant leadership. He is grounded, relationship-driven, and centered on the values his community lives by. BYU is not just keeping a coach. They are keeping their identity.
These coaches are not chasing the next opportunity. They are building homes.
And here is the part Penn State must recognize.
Terry Smith fits this model better than anyone we could bring in from outside.
The Leadership Question Penn State Must Ask
In leadership, ego always gets in the way of clarity. Ego hides behind credentials and search-firm logic. It tells you to pick the biggest resume rather than the best leader.
If we are honest, Penn State’s Athletic Department and oversight bodies have been viewing this search through the lens of resumes and names. But this moment has made something very clear.
If the leadership rubric were based on culture, continuity, trust, humility, and servant leadership, the answer was in the building the entire time.
When you list the traits that actually endure:
- humility
- service
- loyalty
- emotional intelligence
- rootedness
- player trust
- letterman support
- community identity
- cultural fluency
- consistency
and then ask who truly embodies them, you arrive at Terry Smith.
Not because of nostalgia.
Not because of sentiment.
Because of leadership and performance.
What BYU Demonstrated Is a Mirror for Penn State
BYU showed college football how great leadership decisions are made.
Identify your cultural center.
Protect that person.
Unify your donors.
Listen to your players.
Honor the values that make your institution unique.
Avoid letting ego or external pressure cloud your decision-making.
Everything that keeps Sitake at BYU is the same thing that keeps Terry Smith rooted at Penn State.
Sitake is BYU.
Terry is Penn State.
In an era where loyalty has become the most precious currency, Penn State now has an opportunity to choose a leader who already lives the values the sport is rediscovering.
We Are at the Same Inflection Point, and the Answer Is Already Here
The sport is shifting from ego to service, from personality to presence, from chasing candidates to honoring culture carriers. BYU demonstrated this perfectly.
Penn State, with 700,000 alumni, 50,000 students, and a valley that sees football as a community institution, must follow the same leadership philosophy. Not because BYU did it, but because it is who we are at our best.
We have the same model.
We have the same leadership.
We have the same cultural foundation.
We have the same trust from players.
We have the same commitment from our lettermen.
We simply need to see it clearly.
Terry Smith is not the fallback option.
He is the blueprint.
He is the leader who was here all along.
Choose the Future. Choose the Leader Who Represents Us.
BYU’s week was a victory for college football, a victory for servant leadership, and a victory for culture over ego.
Now Penn State gets its moment.
This is not only a coaching decision. It is an identity decision.
The reasons Sitake stayed at BYU, the loyalty, the cultural fit, the trust, the rootedness, are the same reasons Penn State must choose Terry Smith.
BYU saw its leader with clarity and acted with courage.
Now it is our turn.
Some will say Penn State is down to its last option because other candidates said no. That is the wrong way to see this moment. When every external answer falls away, what remains is the answer you were meant to see. Penn State has always taught that leadership is a calling, not a chase. Terry Smith is not here by accident. He is here because this community was built on service, humility, and belonging. The search did not shrink. It revealed.
