"He's passionate about what he's doing," Busby says. "That passion is evidenced by everything he does. His passion burns brighter than anyone I've been around."

Mendenhall has sought out LaVell Edwards, the Father of BYU Football, the man who built the program and the tradition from practically nothing, to mine nuggets of wisdom and advice. Their first meeting, which was scheduled to last 30 minutes, ended up going for three hours. They've met several times since.

Busby, who was hired by Edwards in 1996, has an analogy for what Mendenhall has been doing in his first few months on the job. "BYU football was a machine, like a giant wheel that rolled along under LaVell," he explains. "It's taken a few bad years to stop the momentum of the wheel. It takes a lot of energy to get it spinning again."

The last couple of years, watching a BYU practice was like watching two different teams, the offense and the defense. They each had different standards, which created friction among the players. Building unity and a common mindset was one of Mendenhall's first priorities.

"We won't have two separate teams, like it's kind of been," says middle linebacker Cameron Jensen. "We'll have that one team that's focused and dedicated to playing and working as hard as it can, which should be BYU football."

Meanwhile, Mendenhall has labored diligently to change attitudes among players who have endured three straight losing seasons. "The most important thing is attitude," Holmoe says. "You can get used to losing."

Ever since his arrival at BYU, Mendenhall has brought a different kind of attitude. When he reported to work for the first time in Provo in January, 2003, the other assistant coaches weren't sure what to expect, other than he would be installing a 3-3-5 defensive scheme.

"We were all a little skeptical of the 3-3-5 defense because we weren't familiar with it," says cornerbacks coach Brian Mitchell. "Being with him the first couple of weeks, we saw how special it was, how special he was. The guy was so sharp. In the back of my mind I was thinking, 'This guy is going to be exceptional. He's going on to bigger and better things.' He's very insightful. He's a very good person who will always do the right thing. He makes every one of us on the staff better. His demand for excellence carries over. He challenges you from an athletic and spiritual standpoint. I've been around a lot of college and NFL coaches and he's one of the top three coaches I've been around. His knowledge base is enormous in terms of teaching and dealing with people."

"I have all the confidence in the world in him," Tidwell says. "He's wise beyond his years."

Like Sears, there is a softer side to Bronco. Although not many people get to see it.