PROVO, Utah — BYU football head coach Kalani Sitake today named Kelly Poppinga as defensive coordinator, Sione Po’uha as associate head coach and Demario Warren as defensive pass game coordinator and cornerbacks coach.
Sitake elevated Poppinga and Po’uha into their new roles from his current staff, while bringing in Warren, an 18-year coaching veteran, from Boise State.
“I’m pleased to announce the promotions of Kelly Poppinga as our defensive coordinator and Sione Po’uha as the associate head coach, and welcome Demario Warren to BYU as our defensive pass game coordinator and cornerbacks coach,” Sitake said.
“We have a lot of quality coaches in our program, and I'm proud of their collaborative efforts over the past few years and the momentum we have been building as a staff. I’m confident Kelly and Sione will be a great benefit to our players in these new roles as we continue to find ways to help our players improve and elevate the success of BYU football. I’m excited to add Demario to our defensive staff. He has experience both as a head coach and a defensive coordinator and is known for his expertise in the secondary, developing young talent and being a great recruiter.”
Poppinga, a former BYU linebacker and 17-year coaching veteran, has served as a coordinator or co-coordinator during 13 of his 17 seasons coaching college football at Virginia, Boise State and BYU.
“Kelly is primed and ready for the responsibility to be our defensive coordinator, and it’s my honor to give him this opportunity,” Sitake said. “His leadership, attention to detail and experience as a coordinator has been apparent working on our defensive staff and as our special teams coordinator the past three years since his return to BYU.”
Poppinga has been BYU’s special teams coordinator and defensive ends coach the past three seasons. He returned to BYU to join Sitake’s coaching staff in December of 2022 as the program prepared to enter the Big 12 Conference for the 2023 season.
"My family and I are extremely blessed to be at BYU and work for Kalani," Poppinga said. "I am thankful for this opportunity Kalani has given me to be the steward over a great defensive unit. I feel that the past 17 years of my life in this career have prepared me for this moment. Our players and staff have built a great defense over the past few years, and we look forward to competing for and winning championships in the years to come."
Po’uha, a former Utah defensive tackle and eight-year NFL veteran, has not only mentored BYU’s defensive tackle unit the last three seasons but also been a significant addition for the culture and development of the program since also joining Sitake’s staff in December of 2022.
“Sione is an exceptional coach and advisor who I’m eager to have in this overall leadership role in our program,” Sitake said. “Sione is a great man and natural leader for our young men on and off the field. I’m excited about having Sione in this expanded role, not only because of his football knowledge and expertise as a coach and NFL player but also because he is one of the best teachers of program culture that I know and is extremely capable of leading our program.”
Po’uha who has served as the defensive tackles coach at BYU the past three seasons, has coached at Navy, Utah and BYU since finishing his playing career in the NFL.
“My family and I are thankful to Kalani and the administration for this opportunity to teach, build and serve the great young men in this football program,” Po’uha said. “BYU has been such a blessing to our family, and this is another opportunity for us to magnify the mission for our young men to ‘enter to learn, go forth to serve.’”
A native of Fairfield, California, Warren joins the Cougar defensive staff with 18 years of experience, including six seasons as a head coach at Southern Utah. He comes to BYU from Boise State, where he has coached cornerbacks the past four seasons and helped the Broncos win three consecutive Mountain West championships (2023, 2024 and 2025) and reach the 2024 College Football Playoff Quarterfinals.
“Demario is an outstanding coach with great experience in all phases of the game, including six years as the head coach at Southern Utah and a ton of experience coaching defensive backs.” Sitake said. “He was the defensive coordinator when Jernaro (Gilford) became the SUU corners coach. I’m excited to have Demario coming to BYU to coordinate our pass game defense and continue our outstanding coaching and player development at the cornerback position.”
This past season Warren helped the Mountain West champions defense rank No. 15 nationally in pass defense, allowing just 175.6 yards per game and No. 16 in pass efficiency defense at 113.17. The Broncos were tied for No. 22 with 14 interceptions, 10 of which coming from Warren’s cornerbacks. Both of Warren’s corners earned Mountain West All-Conference honors last season, with A’Marion McCoy a first-team selection and Jeremiah Earby named to the second team.
Warren spent the previous 14 seasons at Southern Utah, including six as the SUU head coach, leading the Thunderbirds to their second Big Sky Conference Championship in school history in 2017, and the program’s third all-time appearance in the Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs. He began his football career at UC Davis, where he was a three-year letterwinner at running back.
“I have grown so much as a coach and person in Boise, and I am grateful for Coach Danielson and the Bronco Family for an amazing experience,” Warren said. “I have admired Kalani for a long time. When he called to explain his vision for the BYU program and the opportunities ahead, my family and I knew this was a situation we could not pass up. We are blessed to have the opportunity to be part of this prestigious university and football program.”
Additional announcements regarding the defensive staff, including specific position responsibilities, will be announced later.
In the past three years since joining the Big 12 Conference, BYU has achieved a 28-11 (.718) record under Sitake, including a 23-4 (.852) resume the past two seasons while finishing tied atop the conference standings and earning bowl victories in back-to-back years. In so doing, the Cougars have not only earned high national team rankings but also consistently rated among the national leaders in many different defensive statistical categories over the past two seasons. The Cougars have achieved top-25 results in total defense, scoring defense, pass defense, passing efficiency defense, red zone defense, first down defense, third down defense, interceptions, turnovers gained and defensive touchdowns scored.
In 2025, BYU produced eight top-25 defensive outcomes, including No. 6 in red zone defense (70.4%) and red zone TD defense (40.7%), No. 7 in interceptions (17), No. 10 in defensive TDs (3), No. 14 in turnovers gained (24), No. 19 in scoring defense (19.1 ppg), No. 19 in third down defense (33%), and No. 25 in pass efficiency defense (116.97 rating). In 2024, the Cougars ranked No. 1 with 22 interceptions while ranking No. 3 in pass efficiency defense (105.91), No. 4 in turnovers gained (29), No. 13 in total defense (308.8 ypg), No. 14 in first down defense (17.0), No. 18 in scoring defense (19.6 ppg), No. 20 in passing defense (182.5 ypg).
While BYU’s defense has exceled in keeping points off the board, yielding less than 20 points per game the past two seasons, the Cougar defense has also contributed to the scoring, with eight total defensive touchdowns scored over the last three seasons.