I don’t think Pope loves BYU. He is the type of guy that sees things like honor code / academics / BYU politics as barriers to his ultimate goal - winning a championship and coaching at the pinnacle of the (college) sport.

He is not sentimental. BYU was a necessary step toward his goal. Little more than that.

His approach is partly what makes him successful- driven to reach his goals even if he hurts some feelings along the way (pulling scholarships / pursuing bigger jobs)

It is weird he didn’t give a public good bye - but that’s also probably a function of Pope immediately moving on and giving 100% to Kentucky. The BYU relationship was somewhat transactional for him. He didn’t choose BYU as a player - he chose Washington and bolted Washington for a bigger stage at Kentucky.

None of this makes Pope a bad guy. Those closest to him probably knew this all along.

He does oversell his affinity for the places he goes. He oversold how special UVU Was, oversold his love for BYU and is overselling his love for Kentucky.

Ultimately the thing that matters most is being on the biggest stage and having a chance to win on that stage. Everything else is either in the way of that goal or helping with that goal.