Amid speculation, Bronco Mendenhall says he hasn’t been approached by or interviewed with Utah State

After a week of public speculation, New Mexico head coach Bronco Mendenhall said he has not been contacted by Utah State nor has he interviewed for the program’s expected head coaching vacancy.

Mendenhall, 58, had been linked to the position via multiple reports over the last week. His first season with the Lobos (5-7, 3-4) ended in a 38-30 loss at Hawaii on Saturday night, capping the program’s most successful campaign since 2016.

“I have only been speculated to have been contacted by (Utah State),” Mendenhall said in a press conference Tuesday.

Born and raised in Utah, Mendenhall has deep ties to the state and spent 11 seasons as the head coach at BYU from 2005-15. When asked if he had been contacted by Utah State and might entertain an offer, Mendenhall initially said he wouldn’t “speculate” on the matter.

“There’s been interest I think every year that I’ve been a head coach,” he said. “And I think all it does is really confuse people when you speculate. So, I don’t intend to, but it’s normal this time of year for players, for coaches.

“I think for most (football) families, the month of December is their least favorite. You’d love to say (the) staff will remain the same. You’d love to say your roster will remain the same. What in college football ever remains the same?

“And so we adapt, we adjust and you move forward as best you can … my wife and I, we’ve chosen to do that and we’ll continue to choose to do that. But I won’t speculate.”

When asked again, Mendenhall clarified that he had not been in contact with Utah State.

“I have not been approached or interviewed,” he said.

Mendenhall was hired by UNM in December 2023 after a two-year hiatus from coaching. The former Virginia coach signed a five-year, $6 million contract in May; his annual salary of $1.2 million is the highest of any football coach in school history.

Utah State completed a 4-8 season last Friday under interim head coach Nate Dreiling. The former New Mexico State defensive coordinator was elevated in July after then-head coach Blake Anderson was fired due to alleged noncompliance with university policy in regard to reporting sexual misconduct.

At 34, Dreiling is the second-youngest head coach in the 134-team FBS and his interim tag remained all season. Utah State Athletic Director Diana Sabau has previously said she prefers to hire a candidate with previous head coaching experience and ties to the state of Utah.

Extra points

• Mendenhall said he’s expecting 10 prep recruits to sign with the Lobos on Wednesday, when college football’s early signing period opens. UNM signed only two recruits — edge rusher John Sierra and defensive lineman Sa’Kylee Woodard — during last year’s early signing period.

“That timeframe is really helpful for (the) stability of a program, because those are numbers you’re taking off of basically the post-spring portal window, right? So your roster stability now doesn’t become nearly as reliant on the first portal window

• Mendenhall said a general manager position will be “needed” on staff to help manage individual and team NIL deals, roster construction and more.

UNM currently carries a director of scouting and director of player personnel in addition to regular position coaches and assistants.

“I’m not racing at this minute, but I already see the need for that position,” he said. “The head coach can’t be the one — nor is it wise for him to be the one — negotiating contracts with agents and players and etc. (My role is) much more, ‘this is the structure, this will be the amount.’

“ … There can be hard feelings in negotiations and so, for a head coach to be in the middle of that, (it’s) final approval, yes, overall structure, yes, accuracy of placement, yes. The execution of that, no. Someone else at some point is gonna have to do that with the volume of those decisions.”

• Friday’s Mountain West Championship (FOX, 5 p.m. MT) is between No. 10 Boise State and No. 19 UNLV.

Mendenhall said he feels the two best teams in the conference are playing for a College Football Playoff bid.

“You always hope it works out that way … I think it’ll be a great game,” he said.

Will he watch?

“That’s a great question,” he said. “I probably ought to ask (my wife) Holly if we’re going to watch the game. Holly’s more (of) a college football viewer than I am, so if she wanted to watch it, then we’re gonna watch the game.”