Don't bet on Mendenhall to go JoePa
Dick Harmon
It could be a short time or maybe a decade, but Mendenhall will not coach the Cougars nearly as long as LaVell Edwards and won't display the decades of perseverance we've seen from Joe Paterno.
Mendenhall will likely retire from coaching before the gray sideburns set in — and he'll still be surfing.
But in a recent conversation with the fourth-year head coach, he had me wondering what he was up to. He talked like this BYU gig could end at any time, like he expected his life would turn on a dime and he'd have to answer the call, or he had some secret malady that would snuff his vitality way before his time.
My best guess is he'd like to string together some conference championships, establish his goals as a coach, follow through with commitments to recruits, then get on with his life.
On one hand, it makes sense — retiring from coaching or playing football before it controls every aspect of your life. Heck, he was hiding out in Montana last month and got mobbed by some fans.
Being a major college football coach or high-profile player can be demanding if not downright torture. You can ride a crest when the wins pile up, but you become a pasture biscuit quickly with the losses.
On the other hand, Mendenhall has invested a ton of time learning to be an organizational leader. He's been labeled as one of the bright, capable, up-and-coming coaches. And it appears he's been successful.
I could see him joining up with corporate behavioral science folks and becoming a presenter at seminars. I could see him getting a call to serve as a mission president for his church somewhere, or just fading into the Montana back country on horseback, or hunkering down in a beach house in Panama.
Anyway, a few weeks ago, he talked like he was giving up the ghost or something, and I pinned him down on such a notion.
"I don't see it long term, quite frankly," he said. "It's not giving up the ghost. I'll do this as long as I feel I'm supposed to do it, and I'm not just talking about football."
An example: Some criticize him for it, but the straw he's using to stir BYU football right now is based on faith and personal growth, not x's and o's. And he finds it sits well with him.
At an orientation meeting of new players last Friday, Mendenhall told the athletes and their parents if they came to BYU for football, they hadn't been listening when they were recruited.
The reason they were accepted to the program, he said, was to influence, serve and inspire others.
So, how long does he keep this up and accomplish his short- and long-term objectives?
Recent comments
Before Bronco goes JoePa he would need around 300 wins and 2 national...
No worries... | Aug. 6, 2008 at 8:22 p.m.
Mobbed by fans in Montana? Someone asked for an autograph at the...
AJ | Aug. 6, 2008 at 7:42 a.m.
I'm sure "Honestly" was completely serious. I fully...
RE: Anonymous @ 5:41 | Aug. 6, 2008 at 7:41 a.m.
