He also said he'd know when it was time to go.
Turns out, everybody else knew, too.
It is time.
Time for Mendenhall to coach someplace else, probably a freeway exit or two past time.
Let's say it all plain here: Bronco used up what he had in Provo, saw some success, learned some lessons, went through some rough stretches, and reached the limits of where he, personally, could take the Cougar program. There was nothing left, nothing better that he could do. Maybe somebody else can do more.
What Mendenhall did wasn't great, but it was rock-steady good, in spite of the goofiness along the way — the cracking open of the Book of Mormon at press conferences, the delusional talk of winning national titles, the chafing at criticism from fans and commentators, the strategic errors, the change in personality from crazy-faced coordinator to general authority-style head coach, the quests for perfection, the whole "Honor, Spirit, Tradition" jersey thing, the firing and rehiring of assistant coaches, the embracing of walk-ons, the Riley Nelson-lovefest, the weird speech patterns and clunky terminology.