This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

There are a lot of weird unique things about the BYU-Utah football rivalry, but one of the most peculiar is this: The coaching staffs, from top to bottom, at each of the schools are college football's version of the Wife/Husband Swap.

No fewer than 13 coaches/staff members who will be on the sidelines or in the press box or wherever else on Saturday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium have some connection to the rival school, including both the head coaches, coaches who not only have coached together, but who golf together and who regularly talk on the phone together, asking about one another's families and friends and lives.

What other rivalry in the country features that kind of crossover?

None.

Follow the bouncing ball here, it is like a Wham-O Super Ball thrown in a shower stall:

Kyle Whittingham played linebacker at BYU. … Not long after he was hired as the head coach at Utah, after first being offered the head coaching job at BYU, he hired Kalani Sitake to coach linebackers and later promoted him to run Utah's defense and made him Utah's assistant head coach. … Kalani Sitake played fullback at BYU and was a team captain. … Before coaching at Utah, he was a graduate assistant at BYU. … BYU hired Sitake as its head coach in December, after Sitake had coached at Utah from 2005-14. … BYU defensive line coach Steve Kaufusi once had the same job at Utah. … Utah receivers coach Guy Holliday held the same position at BYU last season. … Utah co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Aaron Roderick was a graduate assistant at BYU and played receiver there. … Utah linebackers coach Justin Ena, who also is a special teams coordinator, played linebacker, starting for three years, at BYU. … BYU defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki was an offensive assistant at Utah, coaching tight ends and fullbacks before becoming a Ute defensive assistant, coaching the line. … Utah tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham was a running back on BYU's national championship team, leading the Cougars in rushing for three consecutive seasons, and became a BYU team captain. … BYU tight ends coach Steve Clark once was director of football operations and a defensive assistant at Utah. … BYU director of football strength and conditioning Nu'u Tafisi once was an assistant coach of strength and conditioning at Utah. … Jasen Ah You, BYU's director of football athletic relations, worked with Utah's defensive line as a defensive administrative assistant. … Former BYU tight end Tevita Ofahengaue was an assistant director of operations at Utah before coming back to BYU as the program's director of recruiting operations. … Sione Kinikini, BYU's director of player development, worked as a player personnel assistant at Utah.

Did we leave anybody out?

Probably.

If there is anything close to this kind of multi-faceted, multi-layered link-up between staff members at rival schools anywhere else, nobody's aware of it.

At the start of rivalry week, both Whittingham and Sitake were asked about their close bond, and they each underscored that they were and are tight, and that their friendship would not interfere with their approach to Saturday night's game and Saturday night's game would not interfere with their friendship.

"I know I love Kyle, he loves me," said Sitake. "We're going to be friends no matter what. This is going to be one of those things that extends our friendship. We're going to get on the field and complete. And we'll hug afterwards."

Said Whittingham: "I consider Kalani a close friend. I don't think it has a bearing on the game."

If familiarity breeds contempt, it's not noticeable in this case. Although, it's clear that, when it comes to games and competitions, brothers want little more than to beat the daylights out of one another. And that's OK, too.

There's a thin line between love and crushing your football rival.

Certainly Utah and BYU staffs, the people at the nerve center of the game, can see the issue from both sides, because they've lived it, even if the rancor felt and stirred by the loud but small margins of the fan bases emerges at times.

"I never saw [the rivalry] as nasty," Sitake said. "I've seen two great programs that compete. … It affects families. There's a lot of friendships. It's a lot of fun."

Said Whittingham: "Kalani was one of my first hires here. He's a friend."

So let it be known, so let it be written: This iteration of the rivalry game, then, will be a friends-and-family affair. Whittingham said his guys will be ready to go and he's sure Sitake's guys will be ready, too.

Hatred, though, is nowhere near the center of the storm.

GORDON MONSON hosts "The Big Show" with Spence Checketts weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on 97.5 FM and 1280 AM The Zone. Twitter: @GordonMonson.