Ex-Cougars want to join coaching staff

PROVO — While there aren't any hires, the style and tone is already set for future members of Bronco Mendenhall's football staff at BYU.

Checking with interviewees for openings at quarterback and receiver coach, they all say the same thing: Mendenhall is intense, direct, wants accountability and attitude, and demands hard work. He's also got a great poker face — nobody can read in what direction his hires will go.

On Wednesday potential receiver coaches Ben Cahoon, Eric Drage and Kelly Smith interviewed with Mendenhall and new offensive coordinator Robert Anae. Mendenhall had met with Smith and Cahoon shortly after he was hired, but the new Cougar coach wanted Anae to formally sit down with the candidates before any decisions were made.

Along with this trio, other former Cougar receivers have expressed interest in coaching with Mendenhall and Anae. Those include Mark Bellini and Danny Plater, a receiver from the Jim McMahon era who has been helping at Timpview High School in Provo.

In the meantime, San Francisco 49er quarterback Brandon Doman arrived this week for his first postseason homecoming to Utah after being picked back up by the NFL team late in the season. Doman has had a series of interviews in BYU's long hiring process, and insiders say he is further along than any candidate for the job of quarterback coach. Mendenhall and assistant Lance Reynolds flew to San Francisco and interviewed Doman right before New Year's Eve.

"I thought my interview went very well," Drage said. "I don't know what they're thinking, I couldn't tell, but all I wanted was the chance, and I got it. Coaching at BYU would be my dream job, and I told them that. As the school's all-time receiver, I think I have credibility and players will listen to what I have to say."

Cahoon had a similar experience. "They have good poker faces — you don't know what they're thinking about you. But all I wanted was a chance, and I got it. I felt good about how the interview went."

Cahoon, one of the CFL's leading receivers and the single-season record holder for receptions for Montreal, had interviewed with Mendenhall shortly after he was hired but returned this week for a second round with Anae.

Smith, who was a teammate of Anae at BYU, also visited with Mendenhall and then got a second interview with Anae once he finished his work with Texas Tech in its Holiday Bowl victory over No. 4 Cal.

"Some of those questions were tough," Drage said, "You just hope you said the right thing and answered it correctly. There's a temptation to tell them what they want to hear, but you have to say what you believe and what you stand for. That's what I hope I did."