The Pulse: Are BYU Fans Unhappy with Bronco Mendenhall?

I joined the conversation late last night on Twitter with y’all after @CarlBehunin pulled me into it. As he said, I feel the Mendenhall has hit his ceiling as a head coach at BYU. He’s a fantastic DC – there’s no denying it. The crutch is, who is better that can (and will) replace him? As you said, the sexy name is Andy Reid but there are a few issues there, not the least of which is, would he want to? The other I can think of is, is he really “better?” Just because he’s an NFL coach doesn’t mean he’d be a fit for the college game. They are few and far between that can be successful on both levels; the Harbaugh name comes to mind. But I digress.

I think Bronco is getting the most from his talent pool. I think there is just enough “super talent” on this team to be very, very good. The problem is, where are we getting mental toughness from? The 2008 and 2009 seasons shine as disappointments because in spite of all the talent and the set up for nation stage success, we lost the big games because we weren’t ready. We should have been able to compete better with TCU, Utah, and Florida State those seasons, but we didn’t.

Now that I’ve written all this, I don’t know that I addressed any of your questions, but rather raised new concerns.

There’s not another top 75 university in the country that would have made him their HC after just one season in the program like BYU did. He didn’t exactly have a long pedigree of success before coming to BYU. Say what you will about being with UNM and earning his stripes under Rocky Long but UNM wasn’t fantastic and Rocky Long to me is overrated.

I think he is a fantastic DC, he’s proven that ability. What’s been questionable about him is getting the right coordinators to surround him. I was not a fan of Jaime Hill from day 1, the same can be said for Brandon Doman.

Schemes and talent can only go so far. Ultimately, until he can prove that he knows how to go out and get a quality OC I won’t raise his profile in my book. I like him, I don’t love him.

I tend to agree with Adam. Yes, I feel Bronco has taken us about as far as he can/is going to. Should we, as fans, sincerely expect more than 5 of 7 seasons of double-digit wins? Is it really realistic of us to expect BCS when we aren’t currently part of the party? Honestly, even in the seasons when we had a realistic chance to be in the party, we probably would have pulled a Clemson and proved we weren’t ready anyway.

I’ve mentioned Andy Reid in the past but I’m so far off his bandwagon now. It was mentioned that he’d expand recruiting but I don’t think that is true. BYU is going to get the talented LDS kids and the occasional non-LDS stud, but I don’t see who else he is going to bring in that we don’t already get. He’s a very public figure and that is what I think drives the “interest” in him. I don’t think he’d truly mesh well with BYU’s philosophy and just because he is LDS doesn’t make him qualified.

The main problem with us as fans is that we’re used to being the “big brother” in the State and now that Utah has landed two brilliant seasons and now has a seat at the BCS table, we’re jealous and wanting what they have. But we’ve known from the beginning that BYU is unique and we’re going to do it our way; no compromising.

The previously made point about coordinators is probably the best solution to this problem. Bronco needs the right coaches and coordinators and this team can improve. Doman needs time. He learned that this gig isn’t as easy as he maybe hoped for. But he’ll get there. He’s proven his grit and determination to succeed when all logic suggested he should have given up. He’ll get there. (He might want to give up the QB gig for a while, but that’s another story.)

Bronco may not be the greatest coach but he clearly is a good one. BYU will never be able to get top-tier talent across the field due to the honor code, so “upgrading recruiting” is a bit of a pipe dream. Bronco is a great defensive coach from an X’s and O’s standpoint and a competent CEO of the program as a whole.

But what makes Bronco successful is that he is a perfect fit for BYU. He buys into the idea that football is not the most important thing he does. He sees the honor code as a blessing instead of a burden. He can take the mature, hard-working, overachievers that will always be the vast majority of the team and develop them into 10-win squads. He is exactly the kind of coach BYU needs and I hope he stays for the next 20 years.

I am really confused as to why everyone seems to think Andy Reid would make a good college coach. Let’s look at college head coaches who started out as at least 2-year NFL head coaches in the last decade:

Coach School Year Hired/Fired
Pete Carroll USC 2001/Not fired
Chan Gailey Georgia Tech 2002/2007
Bill Callahan Nebraska 2004/2007
Dave Wannstedt Pitt 2005/2010
Mike Sherman Texas A&M 2008/2011

Aside from Carroll who won but also landed USC in serious trouble with the NCAA, this is a list of nearly complete failures. The skill-set needed to be a good college head coach is so different from the skill-set an NFL head coach develops that they are almost never successful. So why on earth would anyone think Andy Reid would be able to recruit and develop high school kids when he’s been used to dealing with seasoned pros?

Reid probably spends most of his time cussing and swearing at paid professionals. The move to a kindler, gentler, more restrictive college game- especially at BYU -wouldn’t be easy.

I simply think that there are a portion of BYU fans who are have PhD’s in Revisionist Historicism. BYU football is in a better place now than it has been before. Yes, even under Lavell. Throwing out the baby with the bathwater would be the absolute wrong move.

No one understands the culture of the BYU experience better than Bronco Mendenhall. The 2012 BYU squad will the most talented group to ever walk the campus in Provo. If a ceiling as been reached, it is one necessary to the program itself, not to Bronco Mendenhall’s coaching ability.

And finally, success in the NFL + Mormon Church membership does not necessarily = Success at BYU. (See Crowton, Gary) Sure, Reid has more CEO experience and a better resume, but BYU is such a distinct institution that a comparison with any other coach or school simply doesn’t meet the standard of comparability. Truly an apples to oranges proposition.

Oftentimes schools turn to former football players who get coaching elsewhere to come run the program. BYU doesn’t have anyone like that do they?

BYU will never hire a non-Mormon coach. It just won’t happen.

Thanks for bringing a different voice to our site, BTW. You are always welcome.