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Bronco Mendenhall

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Bronco has been offered the OSU job. He is weighing the decision but he has a verbal offer, and OSU is planning to make the announcement on Monday who their new coach is. I have talked to BigCoug personally, who is a poster on another board I frequent and he is connected very well to the athletic department and several big donors. It will probably be leaked by the media sooner than later.

I know a lot of you guys are down on him, but he’s #1 on my list of defensive guys who we could realistically get. I think the mystery candidate stuff was all BS or said mystery candidate was just using OSU for leverage. So then you get into guys with that profile who actually would take the job, and Bronco is #1 on that list. His teams always play good, aggressive D, has a power run game, and always has a savvy QB. He could probably get higher talent at OSU and do even better. I don’t think he is known as a great recruiter, but maybe he could get someone on staff for that.

Overall if he is the guy I’d rank it an 8/10. He’s only 48, too, so the idea he’s washed up isn’t reality.

I like Frost, Wells, and all the young guys you like, but they’re high risk for many reasons, and I also don’t know if their teams would play defense. I also like that Bronco has an OSU connection but not an incestuous one.

Think about this:

(1) A week ago, would you trade Riley for Mendenhall? In a heartbeat.

(2) Albatross of Riley’s contract gone, and with a better coach on hand.

(3) OSU got 500k for Riley.

(4) Career record of 90-38. Five top 25 finishes. 10 straight bowl games. Experience and winning.

I see nothing bad from hiring Bronco Mendenhall.

124 COMMENTS

  1. I don’t believe the report either, but I’ll say what I just said on the other thread:

    Thinking about Mendenhall, I wonder if what you see with his trajectory at BYU is a combination of diminishing returns and a little lack of direction with them being independent.

    He came in with a bang and won 10 games 4 of his first 5 seasons. How much higher can a program like BYU realistically go? It was in the MWC at the time, and BYU is hardly a destination program for non-LDS recruits. Maybe they hit their ceiling at that point.

    Plus, four years of having nothing to play for as an independent except a national championship can be detrimental to a program. Does BYU really think they’re going to win it all? It’s hard to steer an organization without clear goals, and it can be even harder when no one wants to schedule you.

    • Exactly, that is why I wrote: He could probably get higher talent at OSU and do even better.

      I don’t think this guy has peaked due to the situation there. Having 25 year old players is more a negative than positive. That’s a ton of investment and years before you can project a guy’s true ability. At 25, spry 18-22 year olds could be superior in many ways (e.g. speed, less wear and tear, etc).

        • By that logic BYU would beat everyone.

          Speed declines with age, as does agility or stride length. A lot of BYU players look maladroit when running. They never have burners. 25 has more strength and wisdom, though.

  2. I hope your right! This feels like an upgrade in many respects. On the top of my priorities was to get rid of Banker – DONE!

    Angry grades it 8/10. With a great OC and DC, this can be a 10/10 on my scorecard.

  3. My golden tablet’s say these reports are false, but if true someone’s sliding down the kingdom totem pole if they willingly leave our collegiate Mecca. Looking at you BM

    • He would be an instant upgrade and more so with those four. But he’s just cringe-worthy when it comes to other parts of his life and how he directly applies it to football.

      Yes… I’m talking LDS.

      I don’t think the same people who let Riley slide because he is being an uber-Christian will accept some cult guy. And I don’t say this out of some gut feeling. There are real people who have told me that Measure 36 is why Bronco can never be here and be comfortable in his position.

        • And that’s just the people who wish for big political money from outside our state to disappear. These people range from each side of the political spectrum. And I’m not talking right wing loony to right wing Obama… more like right wing Hatfield to left wing common sense… which aren’t very diverse.

          We just… uh… got rid of a cult of personality. Why would we buy another?

  4. Why I’m not sold on Bronco:

    1) He’s been working with bigger players because of the LDS mission thing. Everybody just about gains 2 years of growth. I remember someone saying when the BYU players got off the bus, it was like watching men versus boys. He probably won’t have that advantage here, and it’s been a big advantage for his defense.

    2) Bronco’s last 4 games against his rival (Utah):

    2010: L, 16-17
    2011: L, 10-54 (!!!)
    2012: L, 21-24
    2013: L, 13-20

    Utah is a solid program, but definitely not elite. I don’t see how he’s going to compete with the quacks.

    3) Mike Riley is Mr. Personality compared to Bronco.

    Personally, I’d rather take a chance on an up-and-comer. Mendenhall would be a rather uninspiring hire to me.

    • Riley redshirted nearly everyone and was/is reluctant to play redshirt freshmen. Riley also likes to grayshirt. The two year growth thing (BYU vs OSU) is only partially true. A valid Riley complaint was a lack of true competition for playing time at the start of fall camp. He did not necessarily award playing time based on merit if there was a loyal veteran waiting in the wings. Remember, his system is akin to Rocket Surgery and requires years of apprenticeship. Freshman knew they were going to be assigned to the scout team and then assumed that mentality rather than compete on day one. Yes there were outliers like Seumalo and Cooks, the exceptions to the rule.

      • ^^^^ this ^^^^

        And that is why I give Perry a pass for the secondary play and Brennan a pass for the WRs. This is different than giving Bray a pass for the LB play. I give him a pass because Banker sucks. And Seumalo gets a double pass becuase of this and injury.

        Sark… you’re a cheap shot shit.

  5. I’m surprised no one has floated this name as a potential DC for whoever we hire: Clancy Pendergast

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clancy_Pendergast

    http://www.foxsports.com/college-football/story/usc-trojans-nfl-clancy-pendergast-next-coaching-job-120914

    “It was surprising that the 45-year-old coach ended up getting spun off the coaching carousel amid the Trojans’ coaching search last winter after Steve Sarkisian was hired, bringing his own DC from Washington. Surely, someone else would’ve snapped up Pendergast. Last season, he turned the Trojans from a unit that ranked No. 7 in the Pac-12 to No. 1. A few years earlier, he sparked as dramatic a turnaround when he took over Cal’s defense and made it the conference’s top-rated D and gained a rep in coaching circles for having a handle on containing the spread after his 2010 Bears slowed down Chip Kelly’s prolific offense, holding them to 40 points below their average.”

    • I like the idea of Bob Stitt as OC, not as much as HC. Leading a FBS organization is much different than leading a DII organization.

      That said, I’m sure OSU OC pays better than CSM HC.

      • Nope, I’d start him out as OC too. If he develops into a HC then cool.

        But I kinda like the thought of him as OC and Clancy Pendergrass as DC.

        Shit for that matter those two could probably prop up one of the retread coaches. I hope they get a good recruiter like Neuheisel if that’s the case.

      • OUAT Bob Stitt said he couldn’t be an OC for anyone because he felt most HCs wouldn’t let him implement his ideas. More recently, I read something that quoted him as saying he would consider being an OC. I have no idea how SAT/ACT scores and football relate – I’m sure there are some stats out there (and please don’t mention Kyle Peko) but I wonder if Stitt’s record at CSM has anything 2 do with very smart, maths-oriented players – although he says his stuff is simple – no 2-4 years to learn the complicated playbook? never mind – I doubt we will see him on the Beaver sidelines.

    • Montana: According to The Missoulian, Colorado School of Mines head coach Bob Stitt has emerged as a candidate for the Montana head-coaching job.

  6. Since no reputable media person is reporting this, I don’t think it’s true.

    The only known report is that OSU has made contact with him. That’s it.

    Otherwise, not a bad choice but not a game changer either.

  7. Bronco is 10-8 against the Pac-10/12. I’d expect a similar average record from him in the Pac-12.

    Can you really see him competing for a Pac-12 Championship? I’m not sure I can…

  8. I guess to use the baseball analogy I would consider Bronco a triple. Is he really a Mormon? That might be a benefit really. OSU usually has a handful of Mormons on the team. Polynesians were at one point a huge part of OSUs past success, it would be nice to get back to that and there are a lot of Polynesian Mormons.

    • My only concern is he wouldn’t recruit well with the non LDS guys…he’d have to hire a strong recruiter.

      Someone above was mentioning he’s lost rivalry games to Utah. Utah has much better talent with an equally great coach. They killed Georgia. Utah is a good program not sure what the insult there is all about.

  9. Meh.

    Seems like a low risk, low reward (potential) hire. No recruits are going to get excited to come to Corvallis to play for the former BYU coach. I’m sure he’d continue to find 2- and 3-star recruits and try to develop them into Pac-12 players, but there’s no splash or sizzle with him.

    I still would like OSU to try and catch lightning in a bottle with an up and coming coordinator like Frost or new HC like Wells. Even if that new hire flamed out badly, I would at least be able to defend OSU for trying.

  10. Safe hire to get back to pre regression Riley.. 8-9 wins max.. Not sure he gets us over the hump to competing for pac 12 championships every several years.. Which is where I believe we all want to go.

  11. Mamma Machado: “Although Twitter has been abuzz with rumors of Bronco Mendenhall going to OSU, a good source tells me that he is not interested in the Oregon State job and has plans to stay at BYU, it is a great fit for him and his family.”

  12. I never got the impression Bronco cared about Oregon State. There’s an old interview where he says he picked OSU simply because he’d have the chance to play against BYU.

    I can see the Riley comparisons people are making. He never did better than a Las Vegas Bowl and has been worse the past 5 years. BYU fans seem like they would be happy to see him go, much like we were with Riley.

      • Because he’s a hot name and associated with the Ducks.

        I want a good coach. Period.

        Frost might be good or might not. Seems better for a team that needs to completely rebuild. OSU has talent so just need a good coach. I’m not anti Frost just don’t think people realize what they’re wishing for or why.

      • I detailed this in earlier posts but it relates to tempo. Frost has learned from Kelly and Belichick the two best coaches at controlling tempo.

        • There’s a lot more to being head coach than controlling tempo.

          What I see is speculation and projection. More of thise transitive property logic (since he learned from coach x he must be y). Eric Mangini learned under Belichick. Epic Fail. Belicheck learned under Parcells. Epic fail (until he lucked into Brady via Beldsoe injury).

          Frost should get an interview, but he needs to be absolutely grilled on it. Bob D has to come out of there knowing this guy is ready to take the step and actually run a program, which is a lot different than inheriting a high powered offense that was in place for you.

          I’m not anti Frost. I’ve just had the emotions run out and now am thinking more logically. And we need a real coach/leader first and foremost.

  13. Mendenhall is boring and a low risk, low reward hire. Downward trending. Barely an improvement over Riley. But I’d love to be wrong about him.

    Who do you think he would hire as his staff? Do you think he would take most of his staff with him? What is his current staff even like?

  14. It seemed like this post by grackle on the P.O. website should be posted here.

    ————-
    http://www.pure-orange.net/cgi/anyboard.cgi/bscpigskin?cmd=get&cG=13139323&zu=31313530&v=2&gV=0&p=

    Get serious…the only reason he (Mendenhall) ever came to OSU to begin with was

    “…..to get back at BYU [for not recruiting him]…the only motivation to choose Oregon State was that they were going to play BYU.” (his words, not mine)

    And, oh yeah, he just LOVES Corvallis:

    “I remember moving into the dorms and counting 38 days straight of rain, and I thought ‘What have I done?'” (his words, not mine)

    His overall take on OSU:

    On game day against BYU, “We won. Oregon State won. I remember after the game I lay spread-eagle on the 50-yard line on the field (at LaVell Edwards Stadium) and then I got up and, walking back to the locker room I had a very distinctive thought: ‘Now what? That wasn’t worth it.'” (his words, not mine)
    ———————–

    Sure, he’s reflecting on his long-ago days here, but ol’ Bronco has never had anything nice to say about C-town/OSU since then. I can just imagine BDC getting season tix sales ramped up next year with this sourpuss as the face of OSU football. This guy would be a PR disaster from the get-go….

    As I said before, BDC/Ed Ray may be a lot of things, but one of them isn’t stupid. There are far better candidates out there who would really love to come to OSU/C-town.

  15. well, Cuntzano has proclaimed his endorsement for the OSU coaching job. Pat Hill. The guy that was fired from Fresno State in 2011. I guess out of all the retreads that are attainable for OSU, he would be best. Probably a lateral step from Mendenhall in my opinion.

  16. Here’s the deal with me and Mendenhall:

    If we absolutely have to hire a realistic retread coach ala Tedford, Hoke, etc, he’s my #1 pick.

    Otherwise, I would much rather take a chance on Wilcox, Pendergast, or another DC. If not an up and coming DC, then an OC like Wells or Frost coupled with a good DC.

  17. Ok. I’ll take the job I promise to:

    1) have entertaining press conferences
    2) get rid of the stupid chainsaw noise
    3) awesome Oregon microbrews at Truax
    4) keep everything left in the lost and found at Reser
    5) kick Peko’s ass to the curb, but make one last run at Kuli.

    • “Keep the faith” he said.. Sigh… He also really came across as a dick that whole presser..

      Yikes!!!! Its hard to believe that is the guy in charge of Athletics for our school… Good Grief

    • This past week must just be killing the guy. So much going on with Riley leaving, fielding coaching candidates, gathering boosters, writing a VFC opening address. He’s not used to having to work this hard.

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