Bronco Mendenhall explains decision to leave Virginia

In a surprising move, Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall announced Thursday that he’s stepping down after the Cavaliers’ bowl game. He met the media shortly after the announcement to explain his decision, which is reportedly not health-related.

Mendenhall has been at Virginia for six years, totaling a 36-38 record during that time. He took the Cavaliers to five straight bowl games, including one more later this year.

Speaking to reporters on Zoom, Mendenhall said he thought the time was right to step away from the game. He and his wife, Holly, are getting ready to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary.

“Clearly this week there was a sense of clarity,” Mendenhall said, via The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy. “I needed to step back from college football & reassess my life as well as my wife as my partner & next chapter of our life. This was my decision.”

However, he left the door open for a potential return to college football in the future.

“None of this I’m viewing as permanent,” Mendenhall said, via David Hale of ESPN. “The reason [for] the announcement now is to allow [the bowl] to be about our team as much as possible.”

Virginia announces coach Bronco Mendenhall is stepping down

Mendenhall, who’s wrapping up his sixth season at Virginia, has been a college coach since 1989, working his way up from Oregon State graduate assistant to his first head coach job at BYU in 2005. He took Virginia to a 36-38 record since taking over in 2016, including five straight bowl appearances.

Virginia athletic director Carla Williams released a lengthy statement about Mendenhall’s time in Charlottesville and wished him the best as he moves on.

“It has been a privilege to have Bronco Mendenhall direct the Virginia football team over the past six seasons,” Virginia athletics director Carla Williams said in a statement. “He has done an exceptional job of not just transforming the program, but elevating the expectations for the program. He has established the necessary foundation to propel our football team upward. He is more than a football coach and the impact he has had on these young men will be a positive influence for the rest of their lives. 

“In his own, understated way, he had a tremendous impact on our local community with the Thursday’s Heroes Program and with his encouragement of his players to be proactively involved in so many local community organizations. He is an amazing colleague to our other coaches and staff, always willing to help wherever it is needed. I have been blessed to have been able to work with him these last four years and I wish he and Holly the very best in their next chapter.”

Mendenhall will coach in Virginia’s bowl game, which is to be decided Dec. 5. He has a 135-81 record in his 17 years as a head coach, including a 99-43 record with BYU from 2005-15. He also has seven bowl victories to his name and will search for his eighth this year.