Saying Goodbye to Bronco

I had a hunch that one of the five football universities in our state would be saying goodbye to their head coach after this season.  I was mildly surprised it was Mendenhall.  If I was to list the 5 head coaches in order of most likely to leave after the season, Mendenall would have been near the bottom.  And I would have listed him as more likely to retire rather than leave for another school.

But, in retrospect, it probably was time for Bronco to move on.  He did well.  He turned the BYU program around after 3 consecutive losing seasons and put the program back on the map.  He deserves a lot of credit for what he has accomplished.  Not many coaches can say they have been to a bowl every single season they coached.  However, it does seem as if he has taken BYU as far as he can, and its time for someone to build on what he has done.  If you are BYU fans, you hope that Tom Holmoe can find someone who will do just that.

BYU is a difficult place to coach.  The expectations are high.  They have a smaller recruiting pool than other schools because of the honor code.  Not all LDS kids want to go to BYU and live up to those standards.  Those that do, often find themselves living in a fishbowl with the eyes of the rest of the campus looking at them more intently than they do other students.  In addition, the eyes of their rivals are looking at them off campus hoping to catching them getting in trouble.  No wonder many LDS kids pass.  Any misdoings become statewide news.  Things that are winked at and even encouraged at other schools will get you in  big trouble at BYU.  It takes a lot for a coach to succeed there.

Given all of this, the short list of those who Holmoe will interview will be very short.  I think that there are only three names on that list.  Don't expect BYU to make a gimmicky hire like Steve Young or Ty Detmer.  Don't expect Andy Reid to leave the Chiefs or Kyle Whittingham to leave Utah.  Don't expect Coach Ken, who has a good thing going at Navy, to come to Provo.  His style of play, a variation of the wishbone, is not a fit for the wide-open offense that BYU is known for.  There are other men who could, at worse, continue the consistency that Mendenhall brought to BYU.  There are those who can build on what he has done.

Whoever takes the reigns, he will have an experienced team to lead.  Tanner Mangum will be a veteran sophomore, and he is one of 9 starters returning on offense.  There will be 7 returning on defense.  21 offensive players on next years team were on the situational 2-deep for BYU this year.  15 2-deep players are due to return on defense.  Mendenhall couldn't have left BYU in better shape.

Before giving my short list, I will list the criteria.

1.  Active member (temple recommend holder) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  (IE...the institution that sponsors BYU).  If non member, will have to convince a lot of people that he will uphold the traditions and values of BYU.

2.  Either college head coaching experience or experience as offensive, defensive or special teams coordinator.

3.  Display good personnel management skills.

4.  Must be affable and a good recruiter.  If BYU is to get to the next level, they need to recruit better.

5.  If possible, experience at a Power 5 school.

Short list:

1.  Stanford Defense Coordinator Lance Anderson.  Yes, he's the guy responsible for stealing all of the good recruits out of the beehive state.  And if he can't get them to Stanford, he at least, and perhaps unintentionally so, gives them to confidence to believe that someone outside of the state may want them.  Yes, Anderson is probably a big reason why 7 out of the top 10 Utah High School athletes left the state last year.  Some went to Stanford, some went to other PAC-12 schools.

2.  Oregon State Defensive Coordinator Kalani Sitake.  Left Utah last season to join Gary Anderson at Oregon State.  Considered by many to be ready to lead a program on his own.  Young and very affable and a good recruiter.  When he was at Utah, he recruited many players away from BYU who are now in the NFL including some guys named Kruger and Lotulelei.  Families who are famous from switching from blue to red did so, in part, because of Sitake.

3.  Current Offensive Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach Robert Anae.  He's probably more of a default hire than anything else, and perhaps a little on the old side for a first time head coach, but still respected by the team.  In spite of probably being the default guy, you could do much worse.  And he would probably give BYU some consistency in the staff and prevent many player and assistant coach defections.  At worst, he will continue Mendenhall's consistency.