For all his faults and goofiness, at least Bronco had the foresight to see coaching at TSPP was a losing proposition, and he bolted. Gotta give him credit where it’s due.
Bronco was just reading the room. He’d knew Whittingham had his number, and how Holmoe and the rest of zoob nation would call for his head if he couldn’t beat Utah with any regularity. Which he couldn’t. He was heading out the door one way or the other. Might as well have been on his own terms.
UNM is a good spot for him. They won’t win much, but nobody is expecting him to. #JobSecurity
New Mexico usually produces 1 3-star a year, maybe 2. Recruiting usually has to recruit into west Texas, leftover Arizona and a few here and there. It’s definitely a place where it’s better to have a system. UNM did ok when they went to a run-heavy, zone blocking system. They have also done short stints with a spread but usually don’t have the qb or athletes to do too well. I grew up in ABQ and it’s a medium city that doesn’t think big. Limited resources, limited expectations. Bronco is a great fit for what is expected of him.
In the height of his tenure at TDS, ESPN radio had Bronco on for an interview one day. I don’t know if anyone else remembers that interview, but Bronco was outgoing, light, cracking jokes and basically everything he never showed the local media. I was stunned because I had my pre-conceived notions about the kind of person Bronco was, but he pulled the carpet right out from under me. The only thing I could think of was that he really didn’t like the local media or the TDS fanbase and that’s why he kept things so close to the vest while he was here. I’ll be honest, Bronco is the only TDS coach that I’ve feared a little since Lavell left. After that interview, I kind of liked him and was glad when he defected from Provostan.
Totally agree. Completely different person in real life.
When he left, he let slip that he put on a front because of the way his wife was treated by fans. He just shut down after that. He was there to do a job and he felt good at BYU, and they paid him, so he stayed, but once he knew he couldn’t succeed how he wanted to and how the fans wanted him to, he bailed.