Report: Utah State to hire New Mexico's Bronco Mendenhall as next head coach

Utah State is set to hire Bronco Mendenhall as its next head coach, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported. He’s coming off his lone season at New Mexico after returning to the sidelines.

Mendenhall is no stranger to the Utah scene. He spent two years as the defensive coordinator at BYU from 2003-04 before moving up to head coach from 2005-15. During his time at the helm, he totaled a 99-43 record, including a 33-9 mark in Mountain West play before the Cougars went independent.

Mendenhall then took over as the head coach at Virginia in 2016. He went 36-38 overall and 22-27 in ACC play before stepping away at the end of the 2021 regular season. That was his last coaching job until this past season when he re-emerged at New Mexico, where he previously served as defensive coordinator from 1998-2002.

In his lone season with the Lobos, Mendenhall led the program to a 5-7 record and a 3-4 mark in Mountain West play. Now, he’s heading to Utah State, which is preparing to make the jump to the Pac-12 in 2026. In the meantime, he’ll stay in the Mountain West with the Aggies.

Nate Dreiling served as Utah State’s interim head coach this season after the university parted ways with Blake Anderson. He was at the center of a university investigation that ultimately led to the decision to fire him in July. However, Anderson took legal action after saying he was “wrongfully” terminated.

After Anderson’s departure, the Aggies went 4-8 under Drelling’s watch, including a 3-4 mark in Mountain West action. The search then continued for a full-time replacement.

As Bronco Mendenhall works toward taking over at Utah State, New Mexico is also preparing for two other notable departures. Offensive coordinator Jason Beck is taking over in the same role at Utah, the Utes announced after the news broke Thursday. Lobos quarterback Devon Dampier also announced his plans to enter the transfer portal after two seasons in Albuquerque.