New contract, outlook have Mendenhall excited about future


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

PROVO — It turns out Bronco Mendenhall is a funny guy.

That isn't a joke.

His dry wit and sense of humor was on display during BYU TV's "State of the Program," which aired during BYU football's 2013 Media Day.

When asked which defensive assistant was his favorite, he joked, "I really don't like any of them very much, and by the way, they usually will only speak if you have music and snacks going, so I'm not sure how this is going to go."

That was pretty good, but his cracks off the air were even better.

He also did the unthinkable and joined Twitter during the offseason.

Who is this guy?

I'm sure those who are close to Coach Mendenhall know this side of him well, but most BYU fans do not, and for many it's refreshing. It helps that he is having so much fun coaching football right now. He hasn't always been able to say that.

"I'm more excited to be a football coach then I've ever been," he said. "It's taken my wife and I, and family, eight years to really get a grasp of what it means to be the head coach at BYU. There have been times when I haven't liked it much."

So what changed? He said early in his tenure at BYU that he didn't intend to be the head coach for very long. He can't point to one significant event but says the culmination of eight years and the experiences he's enjoyed have changed the way he feels about his coaching future.

Related:

"It's been so much fun," he said. "Yeah, it's been hard along the way and there's been a lot of difficult things. But at the end of the day, after eight years, I have a great job and I like it a lot, and I get a chance to affect young peoples lives and I have a chance to represent what I believe in and I get paid for it, which is an amazing concept. So I think I'm pretty lucky."

One thing that hasn't changed are the goals he's set for the program. Playing a difficult schedule loaded with big names — BCS teams — is required to reach those goals. The Cougars face what many consider the most difficult schedule in the history of the program, and Mendenhall can't wait for the challenge.

"I designed it," he said. "I approved every game. We worked hard to put them into different places. There's huge risk, but there's also the element of what if. What if we beat Virginia? What if we beat Texas? What if we beat Notre Dame? What if we beat Wisconsin? What if you are a fan at one of those games when that happens?"

Mendenhall doesn't think the gap between his program and national title contenders is that wide and points to BYU's near upset of Notre Dame in South Bend last November as proof. BYU had the Irish against the ropes but gave up a 4th quarter lead and fell 17-14. Notre Dame escaped, went on to finish the regular season undefeated and played Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game.


I designed it. I approved every game. We worked hard to put them into different places. There's huge risk, but there's also the element of what if.

–Bronco Mendenhall


"That was one of my most disappointing games because I thought we were better and demonstrated that the majority of the game," he said. "If that is what a contender for a national championship looks like, I like our talent and I like our team and I'm anxious to see more teams like that to see what that really looks like; and I think it will help our program grow."

He believes he has the talent to win against the teams on the schedule, and believes the reward far outweighs the risk involved.

"It could go the other way, but I like to think about now moving the program past Top 25," he said. "What if it's Top 10? What if it is BCS? What if it is National Championship and why not? So I'm anxious to be the coach with that philosophy and mindset moving forward."

You can debate whether goals like these are attainable for BYU. Mendenhall believes It's possible and he works everyday to build a team that believes the same.

He embraces the challenge. And thanks to a contract extension that makes him the head coach through 2016, he has at least four more seasons at BYU to make his dream a reality.

Related stories

Most recent Sports stories

Related topics

BYU CougarsSports
Jeremiah Jensen

    ARE YOU GAME?

    From first downs to buzzer beaters, get KSL.com’s top sports stories delivered to your inbox weekly.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast