Holmoe: Mendenhall contract talks 'ongoing;' would like to settle extension 'as soon as we can'


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 15-16 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

With his football coach's three-year contract set to expire in December, BYU Athletic Director Tom Holmoe on Wednesday said Bronco Mendenhall is still without a contract offer on the table, but that negotiations continue, with the hope that a deal can be done before the start of the 2013 season.

*******

In a now-annual interview with local media that lasted roughly an hour, Holmoe said talks on a contract extension began "toward the end of last season," and that "from there, we've had a couple other conversations about what he's looking for, what I'm looking for, and how we can best meet the needs of each other."

"A contract is not in anybody's court," said Holmoe, "(but) I think we're in a good place."

Asked if he would like to settle the extension before the season-opener, Holmoe said "no coach wants to have to (coach without a contract), and sometimes the details of a contract have to continue on through the season, but I think we'd be in a spot where that would occur."

"I'm not going to pin down when it's going to happen, but I feel right now, the way it's going, my desire is to get things done as soon as we can, and I'm not sure how long that will take."

Could Holmoe envision a scenario in which Mendenhall does not sign an extension prior to the season? "Not that I would foresee," said Holmoe.

*******

Holmoe said of Mendenhall that in recent seasons, "there have been tough times that he has kind of gone through, as most coaches do...and he's probably been a bit more open about that, what he's feeling in that regard."

"I do sense that he feels a little bit better about the team and the future. He likes where he's at right now...mentally, emotionally, physically, he's in good spirits.

"I feel very positive about the future of the program, and I'd believe that he would, too."

*******

About an offseason that included the complete overhaul of BYU's offensive staff, Holmoe said "I try to give (Mendenhall) my counsel and my feelings... (but) in this case, as in most cases, it's his call. These are not my calls."

Saying that Mendenhall "wouldn't make a decision without checking with me," Holmoe said that he was "aware of (Mendenhall's) feelings" about coaching changes, from the time he started having those thoughts.

Holmoe himself hinted at changes when he made some in-season comments to reporters at the WCC basketball media day in Los Angeles. While reiterating that he didn't forecast personnel turnover at that time, Holmoe said Wednesday that "I said that (there will be changes made), because (Mendenhall) was feeling that there needed to be changes made with the program. I could sense that there would be changes."

"The reason that I said (what I said at the time)," noted Holmoe, "was there was quite a bit of unrest from our fans, about where we were and what was going on."

"I knew that there would eventually be changes, and if you were a BYU fan at the time, you probably would want to know that we weren't going to be status quo. That was the real reason, for me to say 'hey, relax, we'll be alright.'

"This happens in athletics; there are ups and downs, and we were in a lull, and whatever the reasons were, that's in the past. I knew that there was hope for the future, and (change) was going to happen."

*******

One of the most notable changes to the staff was the return of Robert Anae as offensive coordinator, two years after he left the program for a post as offensive line coach and run game coordinator at the University of Arizona.

Of re-hiring Anae at BYU, Holmoe said that "Bronco brought that to me; he said 'what do you think about this thought?', and I said 'I think it's a good thought,' and he basically took it from there."

"I liked Robert before the came the first time," said Holmoe, "I liked him when he was here, I liked him when he left, and I like him now that he's back."

"(Bronco) had a good thing with Robert when he was here, and probably the reasons for the departure weren't probably as clear as they should have been. He has a lot of faith in Robert, and Robert has a lot of confidence in what he can do.

"He'll probably do more...he probably has quite a bit more autonomy to do things with the offense. Generally, I'm glad he's here."

Of Mendenhall's staff transition that saw four offensive coaches released or taking other jobs, Holmoe said that "it was a hard thing for him to do, so I just said 'Bronco, how do you want to do this?'...and I deferred to him in most all the cases, to how he really wanted to do that."

*******

The future of BYU's football series with Utah was addressed on Wednesday, with Holmoe stating that "my hope is that we would schedule a couple of games."

"Our thoughts are that we would go a series at a time--home-and-home at a time," said Holmoe, noting that "it is hard to do series with them now."

"They're in a conference that has (scheduling) rules, and we're independent and we're scheduling. As I schedule out in the future and I have a chance to play Nebraska, I'm not going to go 'wait a second, let me see (about Utah)'; I'm going to get Nebraska. It makes it harder for us and them.

"(Utah AD Chris Hill) has strains on his scheduling, as do I, (but) I always believe that we'll get it done."

After this season's meeting in Provo, the BYU-Utah rivalry will enter a two-year hiatus period, with the series expected to resume in Salt Lake City in 2016. Holmoe said the interruption contributes to "one part of scheduling that is hard: (always) getting our rivalry game set."

"If we hadn't have taken the two years off," said Holmoe, "it would have been easier to slide them through. In that two-year hiatus, I started scheduling other games--you go home-and-home (with an opponent), and you've got to jump into that (following) year."

About the scheduling of future meetings with Utah, Holmoe said "it's going to happen. I don't think there's a question it will happen. Is it possible on the odd year that we have to take a year off? It's possible."

"I want to play (Utah); Bronco wants to play. I can't speak for (Utah head coach) Kyle (Whittingham), because I haven't spoken to him, but I know Chris wants to play. We wouldn't be having discussions if they didn't want to get it done. We're trying to get a game for sure."

On the future of the BYU-Utah basketball rivalry, which has two years remaining on a four-year contract, Holmoe said "I don't see a problem with the University of Utah and BYU playing year to year."

"We're talking basketball, but it's not even an issue right now. It could be, but it's not right now."

*******

Tom Holmoe, on--

BYU's bowl future:

"We're in talks right now, as most people are. Most of the talks with bowls revolve around conferences, and I think it's going to be similar to what it has been.

"I would think that the teams and the conferences will align as they have in the past cycle, in the future cycles. There are a few more bowls that we're in discussions with, but any game that we've played in the past would be happy to have us back.

"There are few other games that we haven't been in, that we're having discussions with...some of the conferences don't necessarily like locking into the same bowl over six years.

"I'm leaving ourselves open, but I'm hoping that we can contract with bowls like we did when we went independent. We didn't do them all at first, but we could possibly do a couple (of deals) in the next couple of months.

"I wouldn't see anything more than (contracting for) three years, out of (the next) six. I like the idea of spreading it out. We might be in a bowl game that's an unusual bowl game, but for what we are, and for who we are, in a given year, it might be great. We're a good change of pace for a bowl game.

"It might not be great for the fans in that particular year--you'd probably like to stay close to home in the west, but maybe one or two of the years, you could expand and go somewhere new.

"I'm not trying to float out any rumors...but I'm talking with some people, preliminarily, to see what their interest is.

Asked if BYU could line up multiple contingency arrangements for a given season, Holmoe said "the bowls would prefer that they lock us in. They could lock us in with a provision, but you wouldn't know that provision--it's not good to do that. We had one in the past, and it's not even worth talking about, because it didn't happen, but that's possible that you could go into an agreement if the bowl was willing to do that."

--

The new college football playoff:

"If we're really good, we'll get in...and if were pretty good, maybe two losses, we won't. I'm comfortable with that right now.

"If we're good enough to (be ranked) above (teams in) those 'Big Five' conferences, then we're in, and that's how it has been--I don't really see it any differently.

As to elimination of the previous limits that capped conference participation in the BCS at two teams, Holmoe said "that's probably best. If I'm going to be a purist and say put the best teams in, it's hard for me to not say it's the best way to go. In some cases, the best teams were left at home, and that's not fair.

"If we were the best, I'd want to be in. And if we're not, then I'm not going to try to weasel in by some code or some bylaw."

--

The future of BYU's six-game series with Notre Dame:

"We haven't heard a word from Notre Dame, other than the fact that we've talked about the series and how it has been good. There could be something in the future, but at this point there is no issue that has been brought up about the BYU-Notre Dame football series."

Holmoe said the contract's first visit from the Irish "comes here a few years down the road."

--

Scheduling:

"Independence is good, and there are some real positives about it. The TV exposure has been great; better than I thought it would be. The scheduling part of it was really difficult the first two years and now...the hard part is trying to balance the schedule.

"You can always find the hard games--it's hard to find the games where you try to balance it off."

Holmoe said the new playoff and importance of schedule strength are prompting teams from the 'Big Five' conferences to consider their out-of-conference scheduling components, and that BYU will benefit from such considerations; "look at the teams we're playing," said Holmoe, ostensibly referencing Big Ten opponents like Wisconsin, Nebraska and Michigan, all of whom have deals with BYU.

"We're in discussions with (teams) that haven't been as open (to scheduling BYU) in the past.

"The really good teams don't have trouble scheduling; they're like 'we'll play BYU.' The great teams don't back away from people. They won't play us if they've already scheduled a really, really good team outside of their really, really good conference--they'll catch us on another year, that's why we're doing games into the 2020s...that's a long ways out.

"As strength-of-schedule comes more into play, teams will realize BYU is a good (option)...a recognizable name, a good name, gets good ratings, there's a lot of positives about it, but quite frankly, those teams think they can beat us.

"You can't get everybody you want, so not every schedule going forward is going to look like this year. I can't always get six good 'Big Five' teams. I know what people want, but I can't deliver every time."

--

BYU's leadership and football independence:

"I think they like the independent philosophy; they don't push it on me.

"We discussed independence together for two or three years, and when it actually happened, it wasn't really a surprise to us, because we talked about it so much.

"(School leaders) like the theory, they like the philosophy. They're not saying, 'hey, what's out there?' but they realize that if a big conference came calling for a football opportunity, if it was a great football opportunity, they would realize that it's good timing, and that would be right, but they're not pressing me one way or the other. They like independence.

"I'm not actively pursuing a conference spot now, when the answer has been 'no, we're not interested at this time.' I'm always reading the tea leaves, and right now, it's a slow time.

"If it's not the right time for those conferences, (considering BYU as a realignment candidate) is not going to happen. I've talked to numerous commissioners and ADs, and they understand our philosophy, where we are, and the things I'm saying today. At the right time and place, it could happen.

"There's a fair number of fans that don't like us being independent. There's a fair number of fans that love us being independent, and there's a large number of fans that would follow BYU no matter what."

--

The 2013 BYU Football season:

"If we win 10 games this year, that's a really, really good season. If we win nine games, it's a good season, if we win eight games, it's a good season, if we win seven games. We're taking 'em on. You could (win ten games) with a mediocre schedule, and as an independent, it doesn't mean much. I haven't tried to put together mediocre schedules. So in the future, if there's a bad schedule, then it's on me.

"With this team and this staff and this schedule, I'm looking for progress. That's not to say that we can't be really good, but I don't think the number of wins will necessarily say exactly how we are. We could not win as many games, and still it looks really good. But if we blow games, that's different."

The idea of an international football game:

"I would be really excited about that, but there aren't a lot of other teams that are excited about that--people don't want to do that. They don't see it like 'the world is our campus,' which is our motto. It works for us; now you've gotta find a team that wants to do that, and why would they want to do that? Notre Dame had a reason to do it (v. Navy in Ireland, last year), and I'd love to play a military team near a big military base--that would be great, and I would do anything I could to help make that happen, but they're not interested in that right now."

--

BYU's annual pre-LDS General Conference Friday night games with Utah State:

"It works, it fits, but I'd be willing to look at a different time outside of that. I'd love to play that game in November. USU doesn't think it's (a) great (idea) right now, but I keep trying to say that would be a big thing in the state--we go there, you come here.

Would a home-and-home agreement be possible if the game were in November?: "Possible."

"(USU AD) Scott Barnes and I are in discussions now; both ADs want to play each other. It's like Utah; we've got to make that work."

--

The West Coast Conference:

"I like our relationship with the WCC; the top teams in every sport are really good. It's hard to win championships in the WCC--there's a really tough foe in every sport.

"I think the depth of the conference is expanding rapidly, and that's a good thing. It's an emerging conference; I think the RPI in all the sports will continue to increase, and I think we got there at a great time."

--

Plans for a basketball practice facility:

"It's not something that has been approved, but we're looking at silent fund-raising, behind the scenes--it's not a campaign or anything like that. This is something that is going on behind the scenes. Looking around, (a practice facility is) kind of the thing to do now. (Players) just don't have the (practice) access that you need now, and it's important for our future."

--

Dave Rose and the BYU Basketball program:

"I think that's why it runs so smoothly; he's very good at foreseeing issues for the future and addressing them. He deals with a lot of issues behind the scenes and addresses them quickly. He's very well organized, has a great vision of what he wants to do, and does it."

--

His presence on Twitter (@TomHolmoe):

"Twitter for me is a good way to answer questions. Some questions are things I haven't even thought about, and it's really good. it's a good way for me to work with the fans...it's a way to deliver a message and I realize that I probably wasn't as open as I could be with our fans.

"I don't want to be an open book...it's hard, there are so many things that are ongoing, that I can't say. I usually try to be as open and honest as I can, and sometimes that's hard these days, because there are certain things that are best not said at that time."

--

*******

Photo: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

*******

Most recent Sports stories

Related topics

SportsBYU Cougars
Greg Wrubell

    ARE YOU GAME?

    From first downs to buzzer beaters, get KSL.com’s top sports stories delivered to your inbox weekly.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast