Could Mendenhall harken back to his BYU days and find success at OSU?
The Oregon State football coaching search is underway, and several names have been floated as potential candidates for the job. It is early in the process as the coaching carousel continues to spin across college football.
As the search rolls on, barring a major announcement or change in the search dynamics, The Oregonian/OregonLive will examine some of the potential candidates for OSU’s next head coach.
We continue with an OSU alum at the helm of another future Pac-12 program:
Bronco Mendenhall
Current job: HC, Utah State
Age: 59
Head coaching record: 145-92
Why it works
Mendenhall played safety for the Beavers for two seasons in the 1980s, serving as a team captain his senior year. He got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant at OSU, and is one of the most experienced potential candidates out there.
In 19 seasons as a head coach, Mendenhall has had five seasons with double-digit wins — all at BYU from 2006 to 2011. He took the Cougars to a bowl game every season he was in Provo before taking the Virginia job in 2016.
That job provided a small sample of what Mendenhall could do at OSU: The Cavaliers were 2-10 his first year but steadily improved to 9-5 by the 2019 season.
But after two .500 seasons in a row in 2020 and 2021, Mendenhall resigned after 31 straight seasons in college football, citing personal reasons and a desire to spend more time with family. He would eventually return to coaching.
Why it might not work
Mendenhall’s career has been just above middling for the better part of the last decade, and includes two seasons (2022, 2023) in which he wasn’t a head coach. While middle of the pack is much better than where the Beavers are at right now, they should have higher expectations and hire someone who can make them perennial leaders in the new Pac-12.
Utah State is No. 37 in FBS in total offense, and Mendenhall is an experienced offensive mind, but the question OSU faces is whether its next hire can take it to new heights. While it is certainly possible the OSU alum Mendenhall could reenergize the program and harken back to his BYU days, there is risk of bumping into a competitive ceiling.
Is he interested in Oregon State?
Mendenhall’s name was mentioned in early potential candidate lists and hot boards, but there hasn’t been any solid reporting yet that he is interested in the OSU job. Back when the job opened up nearly a decade ago and he was at Virginia, Mendenhall said he wasn’t interested in OSU. Things have changed a lot for both parties since then, and perhaps there would be mutual interest in a reunion between the one-time Beaver and his alma mater.
Know the other (possible) candidates:
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