By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com
CHARLOTTESVILLE – There’s always been more to Bronco Mendenhall than football, and those who know him never expected him to coach into his late 60s or 70s. Even so, the news that broke Thursday afternoon was stunning.
Mendenhall, who’s in his sixth season as the University of Virginia’s head coach, announced he’ll step down from that position after the team’s upcoming bowl game. He informed his staff of his decision at 4:45 p.m. and told his players at 5 p.m.
At 5:30 p.m., he started a Zoom call with media members and, after delivering a lengthy, emotional opening statement, fielded questions for about 40 minutes.
“I remember saying along the way that I would like the end of my life to add so much value that people forgot I was a football coach,” Mendenhall said, “and they’d have to go back and look it up [and say], ‘Oh, wait, that guy, he coached football at some point.’
“I’ve tried to add that value at the same time through football. But I would love for the next part to be helpful to others, impactful to others, inspiring to others, to do things of real value and substance. And maybe someone will remember, if I’m wearing an old ball cap or something: ‘Oh, wait, you used to be in football, right?’ ”
The decision was his, stressed Mendenhall, who turned 55 in February. UVA’s president, Jim Ryan, and athletics director, Carla Williams, asked him to remain as head of the program, Mendenhall said, but his mind was made up.
“I’ve been a head coach for 17 years in a row,” Mendenhall said. “I was an assistant 11 before then and I was a graduate assistant two years before then,” and he’s ready for a change.
Mendenhall, who came to UVA from BYU after the 2015 season, said his time in Charlottesville has “been one of the most amazing journeys of my life to this point. I’ve met amazing people. And what an incredible challenge. Been at an iconic university, completely different part of the country, traveling in a pack with my dearest friends and their families … So lots of growth and experiences and things that have been imprinted on my soul. I’ve had the chance to work with what I believe is the very best athletic director on the planet. And Carla has become a dear friend, a trusted confidante, and exceptional leader that I’m so thankful for.”
Thank you coach @UVACoachBronco for taking a chance on me out of juco. You changed my life and made me a better football player, leader, and human being 💙⚔️
— Bryce Perkins (@TDN_Perk) December 3, 2021
Mendenhall and his wife, Holly, have been married for nearly 25 years, and “all we’ve known together is the rhythm of a football season,” he said. “That’s all my kids have known.”
The Mendenhalls have three sons, all of whom graduated from Western Albemarle High School in Crozet. He and his wife will soon be “empty-nesters,” Mendenhall noted, and they’re embarking on a new chapter in their lives.
His decision left his wife “a little stunned and shocked too,” Mendenhall said. “But I believe a renewal and a pause and a reframing and a reinventing and a reconnecting is necessary to then become the very best person I can be moving forward. And as you know my passion and my wife’s passion, we love to teach and inspire and build people, young people especially. And I know what that takes, and I’m looking forward to, again, the chance to renew and reflect and reinvent and re-become and then re-enter someplace at some time on rocket fuel to become even a better version of maybe who I currently am.”
Mendenhall said he began considering this move on Sunday, and as the week went along “there was a sense of clarity to me that I needed to step back from college football and reassess, renew, reframe and reinvent, with my wife as a partner, our future and the next chapter of our lives.”
He said he hopes to find a “more beautiful and even more impactful way to help other people after this. I don’t know what that’s going to be yet, but I hope that’s what it is.”
The Cavaliers (6-6 overall, 4-4 ACC) will learn Sunday to which bowl game they’ll be invited. UVA closed the regular season with four straight defeats, the last one a 29-24 loss to arch-rival Virginia Tech last weekend at Scott Stadium.
The losing streak stripped much of the luster from what had been a promising season, but Mendenhall said that didn’t play a significant role in his decision.
“I don’t see a correlation there,” he said, “and I would tell you if I did. I just don’t sense that.”
With the prevalence of transfers and the advent of NIL deals, the landscape of college football has changed dramatically since Mendenhall entered the coaching profession more than three decades ago.
“That doesn’t mean that’s why I chose this,” he said, “but there are new things coming and happening. And then you better be really clear and really sharp and really ready for whatever those are and aligned with it to continue.”
Still, Mendenhall said, the evolution of the sport “really wasn’t part of the decision … It’s just a chance after 31 years straight to step back and renew and recover and reconnect and reinvent myself and our family and our purpose, and then be intentional about where we re-enter and how and whatever that is.”