After only his third season as the head football coach at Brigham Young University, Bronco Mendenhall has taken a program that had not enjoyed a winning season since 2001 and has turned it back into the Mountain West Conference's premier football program, and is steadily rebuilding the national prominence the Cougars once enjoyed. After posting a 6-6 record in 2005, Mendenhall's Cougars have won 22 of their last 26 games over the past two seasons, including a 17-16 victory over UCLA in the 2007 Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl.From his first day as a head coach, Mendenhall has stressed the importance of winning at home. After finishing 3-3 in Provo during the 2005 season, Mendenhall and the Cougars registered a perfect 6-0 record at home in 2006 and another perfect 6-0 mark in 2007. In 2006, the Cougars finished the season as the most dominate home team in the country, and the most dominate home team in BYU football history, winning games by an average 35.16 points per game. In 2007, the Cougars outscored opponents at Edwards Stadium by an average 17.3 points per game. BYU allowed just 11.3 points per game, marking the best scoring defense effort since the 1988 season when BYU held opponents to just 10.2 points per game.
A native of Alpine, Utah, Mendenhall began his coaching career as a graduate assistant in 1989 at his alma mater, Oregon State. After earning his master's degree in 1990, he moved to Snow College in Ephraim, Utah, where he served as the secondary coach and defensive coordinator from 1991-92 under current BYU assistant coach Paul Tidwell. Following two seasons with the Badgers, Mendenhall became the secondary coach at Northern Arizona, where the Lumberjacks boasted the top-ranked defense in the Big Sky Conference. He was elevated to co-defensive coordinator for the 1994 season.
In 1995, Mendenhall returned to Oregon State to become the defensive line coach under then defensive coordinator Rocky Long. When Long left to become the defensive coordinator at UCLA, Mendenhall was promoted to defensive coordinator for the 1996 season. At just 29 years of age, Mendenhall was the youngest defensive coordinator in Pac-10 history.
In 1997, Mendenhall became the secondary coach at Louisiana Tech, where he helped the Bulldogs to a remarkable 9-2 record as his defensive unit was credited with 17 interceptions, allowing just 15 touchdowns on the season.
In 1998, Mendenhall moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to become the defensive coordinator and secondary coach at the University of New Mexico. Over the next five seasons, the Lobos improved from just three wins in 1998 to seven wins and an invitation to the Las Vegas Bowl in 2002. In the Lobos' 27-13 loss against UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl, the Mendenhall-led defense held the Bruins to a season-low 167 yards.
At New Mexico, Mendenhall played a valuable role in the development of the 1999 Mountain West Player of the Year, Consensus All-American and first-round NFL Draft pick Brian Urlacher. The ninth overall selection in the 2000 NFL Draft, Urlacher was voted the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year and was a Pro Bowl selection. Urlacher was one of two rookies to play all 16 games, starting at middle linebacker the final 14 games to establish a team record for starts at the position by a rookie. He shattered Bears rookie records with 165 total tackles and eight sacks, making him the second Chicago first-year player to lead the team in tackles. Urlacher finished his collegiate career ranked third on New Mexico's all-time list with 442 tackles.
As a player, Mendenhall was a two-year starter at cornerback for Snow College from 1984-85. In his second season, Mendenhall captained the Badgers to a perfect 11-0 record and the NJCAA National Championship. That same season, he earned many accolades, including first-team all-conference, all-region, second-team NJCAA All-America and JC Gridwire Academic All-America honors.
Mendenhall transferred to Oregon State and was a two-year starter, playing free safety, strong safety, and linebacker for the Beavers. Mendenhall was a team captain as a senior and received the Leo Gribkoff Memorial Award, given to the team's most inspirational player.
Mendenhall was raised in Alpine, Utah, and graduated from American Fork High School in 1984. He received a bachelor's degree in education from Oregon State in 1988 and a master's degree in education with an emphasis in exercise physiology also from OSU in 1990.
His older brother, Mat, played football at BYU from 1975-79, before spending four years in the NFL with the Washington Redskins. Another brother, Marty, was a former Mr. Utah bodybuilder. Mendenhall's father, Paul, was a defensive end at BYU from 1953-54.
Mendenhall, who resides in Alpine, Utah, is married to Holly Johnston of Missoula, Montana. The couple has three sons, Cutter, Breaker, and Raeder.