Sources: Mendenhall gets 5-year deal with Lobos

• Pete Thamel, ESPNDec 5, 2023, 04:14 PM ET

New Mexico has actually consented to a five-year contract with Bronco Mendenhall to be the school’s next football coach, sources told ESPN, including that the deal was completed Tuesday night.Mendenhall has been an FBS head coach for 17 seasons, with effective stints at Virginia and BYU. The 57-year-old hasn’t coached considering that 2021, when he left Virginia to” reassess, restore, reframe and transform.”He will take on among the greatest challenges

in college football, as New Mexico hasn’t won more than 4 games since 2016. However Mendenhall, a previous New Mexico assistant coach(1998 to 2002), understands the territory well. He did extensive work making the most of both BYU and Virginia. “More than anything else, the success he’s had developing programs,”a source familiar with the search told ESPN.” He’s constantly been someone who wishes to take an obstacle and stand out at it. He’s an excellent person and constantly done it the proper way. In the market, individuals see him as somebody with high character and high integrity. “Editor’s Picks 2 Related Mendenhall led BYU to 11 consecutive bowl games and 5 seasons of 10

or more wins

. At Virginia,

he constructed the Cavaliers into a competitor in the ACC, consisting of a 9-5 Orange Bowl season in 2019. Mendenhall has a 135-81 career record. He led BYU to AP Top 25 rankings in seven different seasons, consisting of the top 10 in 2008 and 2009. He led Virginia to Top 25 rankings in 2 various campaigns.In 16 of those 17 seasons, his teams have actually been bowl-eligible. Mendenhall has actually always been thought about among the sport’s leading thinkers who values building sound structure.New Mexico looms

as a vexing puzzle, as there is little local recruiting base and

resources are limited. Part of what has actually been appealing to Mendenhall has been the scope of the restore, sources

informed ESPN.He will succeed Danny Gonzales, a New Mexico alum who was fired Nov. 25 after going 11-32 in a four-year tenure.