LOGAN – Following a week of rumors, speculation and even some fans pouring over flight tracker sights, some unofficial confirmation came from ESPN college football senior writer Pete Thamel late Thursday night. He reported that Utah State will hire Bronco Mendenhall as its next football head coach.
Sources: Utah State is expected to hire New Mexico coach Bronco Mendenhall as the school’s next head coach. The deal is expected to be completed in the near future. pic.twitter.com/Rx65lQafW0
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 6, 2024
The hire would officially end the tenure of interim head coach Nate Dreiling and give the Aggies their first full-time coach since the July firing of Blake Anderson.
Mendenhall, a native of Utah and graduate of American Fork High School has 18 years of head coaching experience at the FBS level. His most notable accomplishments were with BYU where he spent 11 years from 2005 to 2015, going 99-43 and going to a bowl game every year of his tenure with the Cougars. His time in Provo revitalized a program that had struggled following the retirement of LaVell Edwards.
In 2016, Mendenhall made the move to Virginia. Following a 2-10 initial season, the Cavaliers won at least five games over the next five years, including a 9-5 season that featured an appearance in the Orange Bowl.
After six years at the head of the Virginia football program, Mendenhall stepped down and took a three-year hiatus from coaching. In December of 2023, he made his return by agreeing to take on the head coaching spot at New Mexico. This past season, Mendenhall guided the Lobos to a 5-7 record. While not impressive on its face, it was the most wins by a New Mexico team since 2016.
