Justin Ena and Chad Kauha’aha’a promoted into new roles, Lewis Walker hired from North Dakota State
PROVO, Utah — BYU football head coach Kalani Sitake today officially announced the promotions of Justin Ena to special teams coordinator and Chad Kauha’aha’a as outside linebackers coach as well as the hiring of veteran secondary coach Lewis Walker as cornerbacks coach.
Ena, who has served as the linebackers coach the past three seasons since joining Sitake’s staff, is a 19-year coaching veteran with 13 seasons of experience as a coordinator, including five years coordinating or co-coordinating the special teams unit. Kauha'aha'a, who has been at BYU since 2024 as a senior analyst, has more than 18 years of college coaching experience, while Walker comes to BYU with 11 seasons of college coaching experience in the secondary and two years as a defensive coordinator.
“I’m excited to have Justin Ena and Chad Kauha’aha’a stepping into these roles and to announce that Lewis Walker is joining our staff,” Sitake said. “Before we undertook the recent changes to our defensive staff, I intended to emphasize special teams even more within our staff structure heading into 2026. I’m pleased to announce that Justin will be our new special teams coordinator with the responsibility of putting his entire focus into coordinating this important phase of our program. Chad has been a valuable contributor to our defense the past two seasons as a senior analyst, and I’m blessed to be able to promote him into a position coaching role with our edge rushers at outside linebacker, an area where he has exceptional experience and expertise. Lewis has spent more than a decade coaching defensive backs and will be a great addition to strengthen our secondary in the cornerbacks room with Demario Warren overseeing our safeties.”
Sitake previously announced the elevations of Kelly Poppinga to defense coordinator and defensive line coach Sione Po’uha to associate head coach as well as the hiring of Warren, an 18-year coaching veteran, as BYU’s new defensive pass game coordinator. With the hiring of Walker to coach cornerbacks, Warren will coach safeties on the staff, and Poppinga will coach inside linebackers with Ena moving from linebackers to exclusively oversee special teams.
Justin Ena | Special Teams Coordinator
“Justin has been a special teams coordinator and coached some great specialists in his career and entered coaching after his NFL playing days where he was tutored playing special teams by John Harbaugh and Dave Toub in Philadelphia,” Sitake said. “Kelly (Poppinga) did an excellent job with our special teams the past three years, and I feel Justin taking on this role will allow our special teams to keep thriving as an important priority and vital phase of the game for our program in playing high-level complementary football.”
A native of Shelton, Washington, Ena was a three-time all-conference linebacker at BYU from 1997-2001 and a four-year NFL player with the Eagles and Titans before starting his coaching career. Prior to returning to BYU to join Sitake’s staff in January of 2023, Ena coached at all five of Utah’s other Division I schools that sponsor football — Utah, Utah State, Southern Utah, Weber State, and Utah Tech—as well as coaching stops at Eastern Washington and San Diego State.
While at Utah coaching linebackers, Ena also served as co-special teams coordinator under head coach Kyle Whittingham during Ena’s final three seasons with the Utes from 2016-18. Ena’s coverage units played a role in the Utes winning the NCAA net punting title in 2016, while the 2017 team was fifth nationally in net punting followed by the 2018 squad, which ranked 15th, while punter Mitch Wishnowsky and kicker Matt Gay captured the 2017 Ray Guy Award and 2018 Lou Groza Award, respectively.
Ena was also the special teams coordinator at Southern Utah for two seasons from 2008-09 under head coach Ed Lamb. With Ena as a special teams coordinator, Southern Utah attained NCAA FCS top 25 national rankings, including a No. 1 rank in net punting in 2009. The Thunderbirds also ranked No. 3 in punt return average and No. 6 in net punting in 2008 and No. 9 in punt return average in 2009. Individual honors during Ena’s time at Southern Utah featured two-time All-America punter Trevor Ward and return specialist Nick Miller, the nation’s leader in all-purpose yards in 2008.
"I am grateful for the opportunity that Kalani has entrusted me as special teams coordinator at BYU," Ena said. "This university has molded and changed me in my youth, and I intend to also help shape our young men to be great ambassadors of BYU while also competing and winning championships."
Chad Kauha'aha'a | Outside Linebackers Coach
“Chad is a great recruiter and defensive coach with a ton of experience,” Sitake said. “He has an extensive coaching resume and excels mentoring ends and outside backers. I’ve been around Chad my entire career, so I know he has coached a lot of sacks in his career and helped a lot of guys get to the NFL.”
Kauha'aha'a, a native of Maui, Hawaii, was a two-time All-WAC linebacker and defensive end at the University of Utah who has coached at his alma mater Utah, USC, UCLA, Wisconsin, Oregon State, Boise State, UNLV, Utah State, Weber State and as a high school head coach during his coaching career.
During his time at BYU, Kauha’aha’a has helped the Cougars’ pass rush develop to post 30 sacks in 2025, the most at BYU since 2015. With Kauha’aha’a helping mentor the pass rush for linebackers, the Cougars were led in sacks each of the past two years by linebacker Jack Kelly, who totaled 15 in-the-backfield quarterback takedowns.
At UCLA in 2022, Kauha’aha’a tutored defensive ends Laiatu Latu and Grayson Murphy who got into opponent backfields at a regular rate for the Bruins. Latu recorded 10.5 sacks, the most by a Bruin in 10 years and No. 8 in the nation that season, while making 12.5 tackles for loss and forcing three fumbles to earn first-team All-Pac-12 honors. Murphy added 9.0 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks while being named third-team all-conference by Pro Football Focus. Latu would go on to finish his UCLA career as the first Bruin to win the Lombardi Award, Hendricks Award and Polynesian Defensive Player of the Year Award as a unanimous All-American and be selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts.
While coaching defensive line at UNLV, Kauha’aha’a helped the Rebels more than doubled their sacks per game average in his first season, and as the defensive line coach at USC the Trojans ranked 28th in the nation with 35 quarterback sacks in 2019. Boise State ranked 10th in the nation and topped the Mountain West in sacks at 3.0 per game in 2018 with Kauha’aha’a mentoring the defensive line. Kauha'aha'a’s experience also includes serving as an associate head coach at Oregon State from 2015-17, where he coached defensive line and outside linebackers
As the defensive line coach at Wisconsin, Kauha'aha'a helped the Badger defense rank third nationally in 2014 in third-down conversion defense (28.4%) and fourth in total defense (294.1) while leading the Big Ten in both categories. Wisconsin was fourth in the nation in third-down conversion defense (30.6%) and seventh nationally in total defense (305.1) in 2013. The rush defense rated among the nation's top 25 in both seasons, including being No. 5 nationally in 2013 at 102.5 yards per game. Coaching Utah’s defensive front in 2011-12, he helped the Utes rank among the nation's top 25 in rushing defense both seasons and average more than 2.3 sacks per game while tutoring future first-round NFL Draft pick defensive lineman Star Lotulelei, who won the Pac-12's Morris Trophy in 2011.
Kauha'aha'a also coached in the state of Utah at Utah State and Weber State, where he began his college coaching career in 2005. Previously, Kauha'aha'a was head coach at his alma mater, Baldwin High School, in Wailuku, Hawaii, from 2002-04, posting a 25-5-2 record and winning two Maui Interscholastic League championships with the Bears. His teams finished ranked among the top five in the state in each of those three seasons.
“I appreciate the trust and enthusiasm both Kalani and Kelly have in me to take on this role with our program,” Kauha’aha’a said. “I’m excited to continue to work with the exceptional players and coaches we have here at BYU and know we can achieve great things together.”
Lewis Walker | Cornerbacks Coach
“I’ve known Lewis for a long time, ever since he was a player for me at Utah,” Sitake said. “He has a strong expertise teaching cornerbacks and defensive backs and has also been a coordinator overseeing the entire defense for two years. He knows the small details matter and truly cares about the development of the players he coaches. He is from Utah, so he knows our state well. I’m excited to welcome Lewis to BYU.”
A native of Salt Lake City, Walker comes to BYU after working the past 11 seasons in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, including multiple stops at Monmouth University and FCS powerhouse North Dakota State. He served as defensive coordinator at Monmouth in New Jersey the past two years, where the Hawks improved from a 6-6 season in 2024 to earn a 9-3 record in 2025 as members of the Coastal Athletic Association.
Lewis officially comes to BYU from North Dakota State, where he had rejoined the Bison’s staff on Dec. 31 after having previously coached cornerbacks in Fargo for two seasons from 2022-23. Walker helped the Bison achieve an overall record of 23-7 and challenge for the national title both seasons. In 2022 the team advanced to the FCS National Championship Game before finishing as the national runner-up with an overall record of 12-3. In 2023, the Bison achieved an 11-4 record while advancing to the FCS National Semifinals.
Before going to NDSU, Walker served five seasons as the defensive backs coach during his first stint at Monmouth from 2017-21. Monmouth made three FCS playoff appearances during Walker’s time coaching defensive backs and contributed to two Big South Conference titles. He coached three FCS All-Americans while overseeing the defensive secondary and return specialists for the Hawks. During each of his five seasons, the players he mentored went on to earn at least two All-Big South honors for their play, including at least one first-team selection every year.
Walker began his coaching career as the secondary coach and special teams coordinator at Copper Hills High School in West Jordan, Utah, in 2014 before going to Columbia University in New York City for the 2015 and 2016 seasons as a defensive quality control, defensive backs and returners coach.
As a player, Walker was a defensive back at the University of Hawaii (2008-10) before transferring to complete the final two years of his college career at Utah (2011-12). He prepped in Salt Lake City at Judge Memorial High School where he was a team captain the team’s Most Inspirational Player.
“I am excited for the opportunity to join this BYU program,” Walker said. “I’m really looking forward to being with a lot of familiar people at this elite level and a chance to learn and grow from a great administration and staff here. I can’t wait to get in and develop our cornerbacks and build relationships with all of them.”