The Bronco-Anae Dichotomy

Bronco Mendenhall has given Robert Anae the keys to the offense, both in terms of personnel and strategy. Anae will call the plays and has the authority to make decisions on which current BYU offensive coach stays or goes. During his last reign as OC, Anae did not have this ability. And reports surfaced recently that the reason Anae left after the 2010 season were not as a result of pressure from Mendenhall but because of the incompatibility of the then-offensive coaching staff.

With the news that both Ben Cahoon and Joe DuPaix will not be coming back in 2013 we can presume that Anae is desirous to use the full measure of his new authority. This is Dr. Robert Anae's offense. He will mold it as he sees fit. This is a good thing.

It also gives me pause.

One of my best friends is former BYU defensive captain Matt Bauman. We rarely talk BYU football, but one thing we have discussed is the discombobulation of the program under Gary Crowton. Bauman told me that the gulf between the offense and the defense was so great that it often felt like they were two separate teams. The rules were different. The punishment was different. The effort was different. Crowton ran the O; Bronco ran the D.

It's a fine line a head coach must walk in giving your assistant head coach and alternative coordinator too much and too little autonomy. Gary did it the wrong way. Bronco saw that. My hope is that Bronco can learn how to strike that balance.