Utah State is expected to hire New Mexico coach Bronco Mendenhall, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports. The 58-year-old veteran coach is coming off a 5-7 record in his first year with the Lobos and has a record of 140-88 in 18 seasons.
The hire comes after Mendenhall led BYU to a 99-43 record, two Mountain West titles and bowl appearances in all 11 seasons he was at the helm of the program. It commemorates his return to Utah. After graduating from BYU, Mendenhall took a job at the University of Virginia, where he went 36-38 and 22-27 in the ACC over six seasons. When he left the Cavaliers in 2021, Mendenhall didn’t rule out a return to coaching, but he sounded like someone who needed a break.
“I’ve been a head coach for 17 consecutive years. I was an assistant 11 years before that and a graduate assistant two years before that,” Mendenhall said at the time. “I’ve been playing football for 31 years. My wife and I will have been married for 25 years in March. All we know together is the rhythm of the football season.”
Mendenhall will return to the sidelines at the University of New Mexico in 2024. In his only season with the program, he led the Lobos to a 5-7 record (the team’s best record since 2016). The Lobos started the season 0-4, but went on to win five of seven games, including an upset against then-No. 1 Rodgers. 18 Washington state. It was the first time New Mexico State beat a top-ranked team since 2003.
New Mexico State had a chance to win the final game of the season in Hawaii and advance to a bowl game for the first time since 2016, but lost 38-30.
Utah State fired Blake Anderson in July. After the Aggies football player was arrested, when he claimed he did not properly report the incident and contact potential domestic violence victims and witnesses. Defensive coordinator Nate Dreyling (33) served as interim coach for the 2024 season. Under him, the Aggies went 4-8, their worst full-season record since 2016 (USU went 1-5 in 2020).
