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LOGAN — After 31 years in coaching, former Utah State quarterback Mike “Chico” Canales felt like it was time to come home.
He was so ready, Canales didn’t even have to wait for head coach Matt Wells to extend him a job offer.
The 1983 Utah State graduate returned to Logan as the school’s assistant head coach, running backs coach and tight ends coach in March, marking a long-awaited return to his alma mater.
“It’s like being home. It really is,” Canales said. “I spent five years here as a student-athlete, and I remember when I came back for the first practice and put on the blue, I literally had tears in my eyes. That’s how much this place means to me.”
Canales joins fellow former Aggie quarterback Wells on the offensive staff, and the two immediately expressed a kinship as former players and college coaches.
“Just being here and being able to work for coach Wells, an Aggie, bringing a brother back means a lot to me,” Canales said. “I told him I’d give him everything I got, and that’s what I’m doing.”
Wells is glad to have him back.
“He brings tremendous energy, juice and enthusiasm,” Wells said of Canales. “But for the players, he’s a veteran, he’s done it, and he’s professional. But I’ll tell you what: he bleeds Aggie blue.”
Canales made a name for himself in six years at North Texas, including a stint as interim head coach during portions of the 2010 and 2015 seasons. He helped the Mean Green to a nine-win season in 2013 that included a win over UNLV in the Heart of Dallas Bowl.
“I’m pretty passionate about what I do,” Canales said. “I have a great love for this game; this isn’t work for me. I’m the luckiest man in the world to be coaching and on this field with these student-athletes and the chance to make these young men better men.
“I want them to understand I have a great love for this place. Hopefully it’ll be like a virus, and it’ll be contagious so I can pass it on.”
But he couldn’t pass up the chance to return to Logan.
“I remember calling him the first time. He picked up the phone and said, ‘what flight should I get on?’” Wells recalled. “I said, ‘Chico, I haven’t even offered you the job yet.’ But he was ready to roll.”
In just a few months since his return, the players have also noticed Canales’ passion.
“You can tell he has a little extra passion for Utah State,” tight end Wyatt Houston said. “He bleeds Aggie blue. I can’t wait to get this season rolling with him.”
Canales began his coaching career in the state of Utah as a graduate assistant to former BYU offensive coordinator Norm Chow. He also coached at Arizona, North Carolina State, and the NFL’s New York Jets.
But who was the better quarterback at Utah State: Wells, or his athletic assistant?
“I already told the guys: I might’ve been the best athlete to play, and Matt was the best thrower,” Canales said. “I even told our quarterbacks last year at the spring game; he may have been the most talented quarterback to ever play.
“But I was the best hand-off quarterback to ever play.”
