While his hiring took some by surprise, Mendenhall quickly proved to be the “loyal, strong and true” force for good that BYU football desperately needed.
Mendenhall - who had been serving as Crowton’s defensive coordinator - was reluctantly put in the driver’s seat. The well-oiled machine LaVell Edwards had assembled over 30 seasons had been hijacked and shipwrecked, and there would be no easy fix. Not only were the Cougars fresh off three straight losing seasons for the first time in 40 years, but a hideous and well-publicized sexual assault scandal involving four BYU football players provided significant damage to the program’s national reputation, forcing Gary Crowton’s regime out the door. Mendenhall took the reins at BYU at perhaps the darkest point in program history.
Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall's opening comment at his weekly press conference: 'BYU is near and dear to my heart…it's an amazing experience to now be able to return.'- Greg Wrubell October 25, 2021
