:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/6061445/robert_anae.0.jpg)
When Robert Anae left BYU after the 2010 season, Bronco Mendenhall had put the offensive staff on notice. Coaches were told they would all be interviewed to retain their positions, and if desired they should start putting their name out there to other schools.
Anae and wide receiver coach Patrick Higgins left, and most people speculated that the info Bronco was dishing out about the whole process wasn't true. The offense had struggled, people felt Anae was too predictable, and it felt like the receivers dropped more than they caught in 2010. The two departures felt like the right "firings" anyway.
But as it turns out, Bronco and company were telling the truth. Here's what we learned today about what happened after the 2010 season concluded:
@aolsen From what I've been told, Anae wanted to resign during the 2010 season, but was asked to stay aboard until the end of the year.
— Jeff Call (@AJeffreyCall) January 4, 2013
From my understanding, Bronco Mendenhall and Robert Anae have always had a good relationship. When Anae left, it was Anae's decision to go.
— Jeff Call (@AJeffreyCall) January 4, 2013
Sources tell me that BYU pursued Anae, wanted him to return to the program.
— Jeff Call (@AJeffreyCall) January 4, 2013
Hearing that biggest problems in 2010 were between Anae and Reynolds, not Anae and Mendenhall. #BYU
— Jay Drew (@drewjay) January 4, 2013
Funny how stories come out now; Hearing that Reynolds/Anae had to be separated after win vs. Wyo in 2010 over play-calling disagreement.#BYU
— Jay Drew (@drewjay) January 4, 2013
If public perception is that Robert Anae was originally nudged out by Bronco, that was not the case.At the time, Robert felt it was time.
— Greg Wrubell (@gregwrubell) January 4, 2013
When Anae originally left BYU, the offensive room was bordering on dysfunctional, and he didn't want to be in that room anymore.
— Greg Wrubell (@gregwrubell) January 4, 2013
Anae process had been in works for a while; multiple meetings, to GA level, etc. Doman also interviewed to keep his old job.
— Greg Wrubell (@gregwrubell) January 4, 2013
So Anae wanted to leave before 2010 was even over, apparently over struggles with Lance Reynolds, BYU's longest-tenured offensive coach. All along, it was assumed Anae was forced out despite what Bronco and BYU said. Maybe we shouldn't be so skeptical of the "company line" after all.