BYU: Can't We All Get Along?

Now that it’s clear BYU isn’t going to have a great season, there are a lot of places to point fingers.

The obvious place to start is defensive coordinator Jaime Hill. At least that’s where BYU’s finger was pointing, this weekend, when it fired Hill. Numerous reports are now saying there were personality and style conflicts that led to his departure, as well as some coaching misgivings.

An argument could be made as to why Hill? Why not offensive coordinator Robert Anae?

BYU is 101st in total defense and 120th (last) against the rush. At the same time, it’s 80th in pass offense, 94th in rushing offense, 96th in total offense and 118th in passing efficiency.

Which leads me to conclude that personality and method had as much to do with why he’s gone as did the dreadful defensive stats. That’s how it goes in any workplace. Performance is the big thing, but personality and ability to get along with co-workers is also a factor.

Hill has said he was “a scapegoat” and that’s partly true. Whenever a coach is fired, someone gets blamed for the overall problem. It isn’t all Hill’s fault, but whenever things go south, those in charge have to start somewhere.

There is plenty of blame to go around, but now that we’ve had a chance to step back, why did most people – me included – think BYU would be OK this year? Because BYU always finds a way to overcome the loss of key players.

Which gets me to another point: Mendenhall should have stressed it was a rebuilding season all along. With the anticipation of Jake Heaps and a talented receiving corps, he and his staff indicated they were high on this year’s team. In reality, they were replacing five offensive and seven defensive starters. Not just starters, but stars: Max Hall, Harvey Unga, Dennis Pitta (and backup Andrew George), Jan Jorgensen, Matt Bauman and others.

Then came the injuries to starters this year, which further clouded the outlook.

Looks like right now the best plan is to duck and cover.