On the first Friday of October in 2010, BYU took on Utah State in Logan for an annual General Conference weekend tilt for the Old Wagon Wheel.
BYU came into the game as a struggling 1-3 team, but was still the favorite over a Aggie program that the Cougars had not lost to since 1993 when BYU had one of their worst defenses in program history.
The Aggies dominated BYU for a full 60 minutes in 2010, and the Cougar defense was gashed all night by Diondre Borel and the upstart Aggies; BYU gave up 242 rushing yards en route to a 31-16 loss putting the Cougars at 1-4 for the first time in the Mendenhall era.
Bronco was in a predicament he never envisioned himself being in at BYU. You have to realize that from 2005 to the end of 2009, any move Mendenhall made in the program with personnel, redshirt decisions, to even game day travel, everything Mendenhall was touching turned to gold early in his tenure. Yes, there were hiccups along the way, with a few losses here and there, but to this point of Mendenhall’s tenure BYU was seeing an unprecedented run of success that even LaVell Edwards didn’t have. So the 1-4 start to open the 2010 season sent shockwaves to the program.
Mendenhall knew he had to make a change, and he had to make it quick to right the ship.
To understand how loyal of a man Bronco is, you have to go back to when he was being interviewed for the position he currently holds after Gary Crowton was let go.
The following morning after the Utah State loss, BYU announced defensive coordinator Jaime Hill was fired from his position immediately.
It came as a surprise because Mendenhall is very loyal to the men he works with. To understand how loyal of a man Bronco is, you have to go back to when he was being interviewed for the position he currently holds after Gary Crowton was let go.
Mendenhall was so upset with his colleague and good friend (Crowton) getting fired that when he was asked for an interview for the vacant position, Mendenhall planned on sandbagging the interview with Tom Holmoe to basically defend the work his mentor and friend had done in Provo. Crowton told Mendenhall to pursue the job and move on so he could have a chance to get the job, but it just shows when you’re one of the men Mendenhall respects, that’s a band of brotherhood unto itself for Bronco.
With Hill now out as defensive coordinator, Bronco took over in that role again for the first time since 2006. Instantly the Cougar defense was improved with the change.
BYU took on a San Diego State team in Mendenhall’s first game as defensive coordinator, who was coached by Brady Hoke (yes, that Brady Hoke), and the Aztecs were in a rare position as one of the favorites to win the Mountain West crown. BYU won that game 24-21, and BYU went on to finish 6-2 in 2010 after the Hill firing.
Robert Anae 1.0
After the 2010 season, Mendenhall realized how much of a difference a change to the defense improved that unit, maybe it was time for a change to reenergize the stagnant offense? Shortly after BYU’s win over UTEP in the New Mexico Bowl, Bronco asked the entire offensive staff to re-apply for their jobs or pursue other coaching opportunities, including offensive coordinator, Robert Anae.
Sep 27, 2013; Provo, UT, USA; Brigham Young Cougars offensive coordinator Robert Anae during warm-ups prior to the game against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Lavell Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
Anae, who was always much maligned as the offensive coordinator, had worn out his welcome after the 2010 season. Mendenhall wanted a change in the offensive philosophy to get the most out of highly touted quarterback Jake Heaps and to also hire his first offensive coordinator as the headman at BYU.
When Mendenhall took over as head coach in 2005, Anae was already in place as the offensive coordinator when Bronco took the job. There was speculation that Bronco would bring someone from his coaching tree in the Oregon State/Louisiana Tech/New Mexico circles, or even promote long time assistant, and runner-up to the head coach job, Lance Reynolds. But Anae was already waiting for Bronco when he got the gig, as the school president Cecil O. Samuelson made that hire internally with Fred Skousen as his right hand man, while the school continued pursuing a new athletic director.
There was a bit of trepidation on Bronco’s end about an offensive coordinator already being in place, but lucky for Mendenhall and Anae, the Cougars had two all-time signal callers to revive Quarterback U. over the first five years of their tenures. When John Beck and Max Hall weren’t coming through that door however, the fears from Bronco about Dr. Bob finally came to the forefront in 2010 and Mendenhall wanted his guy.
Brandon Doman
In comes Brandon Doman as Mendenhall’s ace in the hole. Doman, who always endeared himself to Cougar faithful as the quarterback who came in and saved LaVell’s final season, and led one of the greatest offensive attacks in 2001 with Luke Staley, was expected to bring back the BYU offense of old to the modern era of College Football. Doman played in the NFL for a few seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, and when he was hired by Bronco in 2005 as the school’s quarterback coach, many within the program thought that Doman had the potential, with his deep roots to the program, to eventually end up being the head coach of the program one day. With such a limited pool of prominent LDS coaches, it was a reasonable thought at the time.
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The high praise for Doman didn’t last very long. You could argue the honeymoon was over after the underwhelming offensive performance against an Ole Miss team that was one of the worst teams defensively the previous year nationally. Was the quick knee jerk reaction warranted? Maybe not, especially when you consider Doman didn’t have the luxury of running an offense with Beck or Hall. But Doman’s offenses lacked identity and continuity, and the decision making from Doman left many scratching their heads. Anyone remember Taysom blowing out his knee against Utah State in 2012 due to the decision to not take a knee?
Also, Doman’s positional coaches were much to be desired. Outside of Mark Weber at Utah State, none of them are still coaching at the FBS level. Not very often have BYU fans entered games with the hopes of scoring at least one touchdown. That was the BYU offense under Doman, well, Bishop Doman for some.
Mendenhall surprised many breaking off his strong relationship with Doman for yet another change at the coordinator spot. During all of this, Mendenhall is quietly leading a defense that ranks with the Alabama’s and the Michigan State’s of the college football world, but instead of National Championship’s and Rose Bowl’s, BYU was coming up short against the best teams on their schedule and ending up with mediocre records. It was time for another change.
Nick Howell & Anae 2.0
In a surprising twist, Mendenhall brought back an old friend, Robert Anae who had spent the previous two years with Rich Rodriguez at Arizona. The other top candidate from what I’ve been told was former Boise State and Colorado Head Coach, Dan Hawkins, but Mendenhall simply wanted results. Despite Dr. Bob’s flaws in the personality department with players and other members of the old staff, Anae offenses put up points and got results. That’s what Mendenhall wanted, and Anae impressed with Bronco with his vision of an up-tempo attack.
Dec 20, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; Brigham Young Cougars special teams coach Nick Howell pats linebacker Kyle Van Noy (3) on the helmet after he blocked a punt during the third quarter against the San Diego State Aztecs at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
On the defensive side, Mendenhall wanted to make sure he was more in touch with the offense going forward. He didn’t want to see the offense hit the lows that they saw under Doman. He wanted to be in team meetings, and be familiar with their schemes and strategies. He wasn’t doing that as the defensive coordinator. Mendenhall was going to retain the play calling for the defense but he gave Nick Howell the title of defensive coordinator. A former Ben Lomond High head coach, Howell has ascended through the ranks at BYU. A fast ascent for a position that is a high profile spot for any major college football program, but Mendenhall had a strong belief that under his direction, Howell would become a “Bronco Jr.” of sorts.
Howell then received full reigns over the defense this off-season, just seven years after being a defensive intern with the program.
Through 18 games of the Anae and Howell tandem manning the coordinator posts, there are mixed feelings right now. There have been highs, but they have also been very low lows. Lows that have set BYU back from being national players.
Will Mendenhall have to make a change yet again in the near future? The post everyone is focusing on right now is Howell at DC. The consensus thought is that Mendenhall needs to do a takeover like he did with Hill as mentioned earlier. Problem is, Mendenhall wants nothing to do with that.
The three and a half seasons Mendenhall spent calling the plays for the defense was very taxing on him. Taxing to the point where he was physically and mentally drained. During that period, Mendenhall always referenced seasons feeling more like dog years, or he would reference he doesn’t know how much longer he could coach. He was gassed the past few seasons. When you consider the role of BYU’s head football coach and everything Mendenhall has to do away from the football field, taking over an entire defense was too much on his plate.
Many point to a “new” Mendenhall this season, well a lot of that is because he is engaged with the entire team and overseeing the entire program this year. If Mendenhall has to go in and save the defense like many are calling for, he might as well fire Howell. He’s not going to do that after five games. If the poor defensive play continues for BYU, Mendenhall will reevaluate things after the season. But for now, Mendenhall enjoys overseeing the program and coaching up the defensive tackles to get his defensive fix.
With Anae, the injury to Taysom will pose an interesting dynamic for him. GFGH was great for Taysom, but you can’t run that with uhhh…ummm…what’s his name? Uh, Stew! Yeah, Stew, Christan Stewart . Can Anae create a game plan that keeps BYU’s offense dynamic, yet catered to Stewart’s skill sets? Could be a big measuring stick for Anae who still has share of naysayers. If he doesn’t it’ll go down as another chapter of coordinators letting down Mendenhall.
Bronco is a great coach. He’s simply one of the best defensive minds in all of football. There’s no question about that. But if there’s one knock on Mendenhall it has been his coordinator hires, they continue to be underwhelming at best.
What the struggles at coordinator are showing to me is that BYU needs to making a stronger commitment financially to this program. In this climate of college football you can’t just turn to BYU alums and pay them pennies compared to power five coordinators and expect high-level results week in and week out. You’re blind to the reality of college football if you think that.
If the time comes for Mendenhall to re-evaluate his coordinators again, the program will need to expand their reach for coaches and thus their wallets.
We all know that the head coaches at BYU have to be LDS, but the coordinators and assistants don’t have to. These two jobs shouldn’t be posts that only former BYU guys can land. Coaches around the country who have a long history with other major programs should be candidates for these jobs, and coaches around the country should look at a coordinator job at BYU as a big opportunity. Being the offensive coordinator at BYU used to be a big deal nationally, now it doesn’t conjure up much.
The season might be lost in terms of going undefeated, but there is a lot to watch for with how this program grows. Wins over teams like UCF this Thursday come at a premium for BYU, and if those wins don’t happen, time to dust off the resumes gentlemen.