Four days ago we were first to share the news that Bronco Mendenhall had emerged as the central focus of Utah State's head coaching search.
In the early hours of this morning, Pete Thamel came out with a report sharing that the Aggies are expected to hire Bronco and a deal is expected to be completed in the near future. Sources tell FootballScoop the deal is essentially complete and has been worked on for days.
Thamel adds Bronco's has inked a six-year deal. Financial terms have not yet been disclosed.
The job in Logan marks a return to a familiar state for Bronco, who just wrapped up his first season leading New Mexico.
A native of Alpine, Utah which is barely 100 miles south of Logan, Bronco logged over 15 seasons coaching in his home state.
He put together an impressive 99-43 record leading BYU for over a decade, from 2005-2015 before surprising the college football world with a move across the country to take over a struggling Virginia program.
There, he quickly built the Cavaliers into a bowl team, after a 2-10 season, he took them to three straight bowl trips including an 8-win season in year three and a 9-win season and ACC Coastal title in year four.
This past season, Bronco jumped back into the head coaching seat at New Mexico, a place where wins have been hard to come by for the past several head coaches. where he was able to turn around a slow 0-4 start to finish the year 5-7 where their wins included a 50-45 win over Utah State midway through the season in Logan.
As we shared earlier this week, New Mexico leaders gave Mendenhall a multi-year deal upon his hiring. After just one season at the helm, it’s FootballScoop’s understanding that Mendenhall would owe a seven-figure buyout - north of $1.5 million that would be due within three years of a departure this early in the pact.
Nate Dreiling served as Utah State's interim coach for the 2024 season, and led the Aggies to a 4-8 campaign that ended in with a disappointing come-from-ahead loss to rival Colorado State.
The move will mark the 21st head coaching opening of the cycle, filling Utah State while opening the job at New Mexico.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.