Ex-UVA coach Mendenhall in mix for New Mexico job

By Jerry Ratcliffe

When Bronco Mendenhall made a surprise exit from the Virginia football program after the 2021 season, he didn’t rule out becoming a head coach again.

The former UVA and BYU coach could return by the end of this week. Mendenhall is reportedly the No. 1 target to become the new head coach at New Mexico, where he once served as a defensive assistant from 1998-2002.

New Mexico fired Danny Gonzalez after the Lobos went 4-8 this past season. The school has also looked at former San Diego State coach Rocky Long, who was Mendenhall’s mentor at New Mexico. Long spent this past season as the defensive coordinator at Syracuse before that staff was dismissed. The Lobos also reportedly have talked with former Utah State and Texas Tech head coach Matt Wells and North Dakota State’s Matt Entz.

Mendenhall, who came to Virginia after a long, successful stint at BYU, took the Cavaliers to three straight bowl games, highlighted by the ACC’s Coastal Division title and a spot in the conference championship game and Orange Bowl bid in 2019.

The Cavaliers were bowl-eligible for the Covid-ridden 2020 season, but announced they would not participate in a bowl game as a precautionary measure. Virginia was invited to the Wasabi Bowl in Boston in 2021 to face SMU, but bowed out due to Covid.

At BYU, Mendenhall led teams to 10 or more wins in four of its six seasons in the Mountain West Conference, of which New Mexico is a member. During his reign as head coach of the Cougars and Cavaliers, he compiled a 135-81 record, with 11 seasons where his teams won eight or more games.

Apparently Mendenhall was considered in the mix for the Colorado job last year before the Buffaloes hired Deion “Prime Time” Sanders as its head coach. Mendenhall was also in competition for other openings last season.