Bronco Mendenhall’s alma mater needs a head coach. Could Oregon State come calling?
It’s been almost two years since Bronco Mendenhall stepped down as Virginia’s head coach.
Since then, he has been mentioned as a potential candidate when head coaching vacancies have opened up — that’s not a surprise given his success in six years at Virginia and 11 years at BYU prior to that.
One of the most recent vacancies, though, could carry more weight than others in terms of Mendenhall’s potential interest.
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On Sunday, Jonathan Smith was announced as the next head football coach at Michigan State, after Smith spent the past six seasons as Oregon State’s head coach.
That leaves the Beavers in search of a new coach, in addition to a permanent home for their athletic programs, after the mass exodus of teams from the Pac-12 this past summer.
Mendenhall has strong connections to Oregon State. He played safety for the Beavers in the 1980s, and the Utah native also coached there, first as a graduate assistant, then for two years, including one year as Oregon State’s defensive coordinator, in the mid 1990s.
Several media outlets listed Mendenhall — who went 99-43 in 11 seasons as BYU’s head coach (2005-2015), with six bowl wins and four final Associated Press top 25 finishes — as a coaching candidate to watch in the Oregon State search.
“He was in the mix for the Colorado job last year, and he has been in contact with a few jobs in this cycle,” The Athletic’s Chris Vannini wrote about Mendenhall, and his possible candidacy for the Oregon State job.
“He went 135-81 as a head coach from 2005 to ’21, a consistent winner with 11 seasons of at least eight victories. The Utah native is plenty familiar with the school and the region, if he’s ready to get back into coaching after stepping away in 2021.”
The Oregonian’s Nick Daschel lists Mendenhall among seven “top tier” candidates for the OSU position, along with former Auburn/Boise State coach Bryan Harsin, former Washington State Nick Rolovich, Washington offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, Texas-San Antonio coach Jeff Traylor, former Pittsburgh/Wisconsin head coach and current Texas analyst Paul Chryst and Oregon State defensive coordinator Trent Bray.
“His 17-year resume at BYU and Virginia produced a record of 135-81, including five seasons with 10 or more wins, and 15 bowl appearances,” Daschel wrote.
Mendenhall, who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, told the Church News earlier this year that he is open to returning to coaching.
“There’s not a decision that I make or that we make that doesn’t start with our beliefs,” Mendenhall told the Church News. “And our beliefs then guide the principles, and our principles guide our choices. Our choices guide our actions, and you pull that thread, it’s back to our beliefs.”
Mendenhall has also been mentioned as a candidate for head coaching vacancies at Boise State and San Diego State by The Athletic.
“But if he’s interested in coming back after stepping away from the sport in 2021, he’d have to show he’s ready to keep up with the new era of college football,” Vannini wrote.
Syracuse.com’s Chris Carlson also suggested Mendenhall should be on a short list of “dream candidates,” along with former Washington/Boise State head coach Chris Petersen, to be the Orange’s next coach.
Mendenhall has a connection on Syracuse’s current staff — Orange offensive coordinator/QB coach Jason Beck played for Mendenhall at BYU and was an assistant coach under him both at BYU and Virginia.
“Mendenhall shocked the ACC by resigning at Virginia in 2021, but in a later interview with ESPN, he expressed interest in an eventual return to coaching,” Carlson wrote.
“He’d be risking his strong reputation on a very difficult job, but if the Orange could convince him to return it would silence any doubts the school takes football seriously.”
