Utah State is expected to hire New Mexico head coach Bronco Mendenhall as its new head coach, multiple people briefed on the situation told The Athletic.

Mendenhall, the former BYU and Virginia coach, went 5-7 in his lone season leading the Lobos.

This season was Mendenhall’s first since stepping away from coaching after the 2021 season. A Utah native, Mendenhall went 99-43 in 11 seasons as BYU’s head coach from 2005 to ‘15, then went 36-38 as Virginia’s head coach from 2016 to ‘21, highlighted by an Orange Bowl appearance in 2019. It was a day of turnover for New Mexico even before the Mendenhall news. Quarterback Devon Dampier announced his intention to enter the transfer portal, as did wide receiver Luke Wysong, and offensive coordinator Jason Beck took the same job at Utah.

Utah State went 4-8 this season under interim coach Nate Dreiling. Previous head coach Blake Anderson was fired for cause in July for what the school said was his mishandling of alleged Title IX violations. Anderson filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the school in November. Anderson went 23-17 with three bowl appearances in three years before he was fired.

ESPN first reported Mendenhall’s expected hire at Utah State.

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