While Bronco's career thrived after that, there were plenty of off-the-field trials. Holly was pregnant with their second son, Breaker, when her father died. Bronco and Holly attended the funeral in Montana, but Bronco, who was the defensive coordinator at New Mexico, had to return to Albuquerque because the Lobos were in the middle of their 2001 football season. She remained in Montana with her mom.

During her stay there, terrorists struck on Sept. 11, causing the closure of airports throughout the country, including the one in Missoula. Days later, Bronco was returning to Albuquerque at 3 a.m. after a game against Baylor when he received a phone call from his mother-in-law, who provided a play-by-play of Breaker's birth. Bronco didn't meet his new son until a couple of weeks later. "It was very difficult," he recalls.

Later that year, a couple of days before Thanksgiving, Holly received a phone call from Bronco, who asked her to bring something to his office. Holly did and when she returned home, about an hour later, she found the door hinges were smashed. Upon entering, she saw that they had been robbed of almost everything they owned.

"It was a strange deal, and we ended up moving," Holly says. "Anything compared to that is easy. You go through experiences like that together, and it either pulls you together or it pulls you apart."

Now, the Mendenhall family is pulling together, again, as usual. Holly may not be a walking encyclopedia of BYU football, but she understands that her husband has been charged to restore greatness to the Cougars. She's willing to do whatever she can to help Bronco succeed.

"It is an adventure," Holly says. "We'll see where it takes us."

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E-mail: jeffc@desnews.com