He had a well deserved reputation as both a top notch DC and an innovative one, with his 3-3-5 defense. And the first few years at BYU, he said he wouldn't be staying long term.
I got news for you. If he left tomorrow, he stayed long term. Ten years on the job as a head coach in big time college football is a long time. And I don't think he's leaving anytime soon unless asked to leave.
Say what you want, the man can adjust. He dropped his baby, the 3-3-5, because he saw that BYU's strength was in recruiting linebackers. He let go his entire offensive coaching staff, all of whom he had hired, and a couple that were pretty good friends. A cynic might say he's good at protecting his tail, but if you want to work for Bronco, you had better deliver results. Jaime Hill crafted a passable secondary out of walkons and made DC, when the defense wasn't delivering, he was gone.
And playing tougher teams than BYU did in the 1970's, if we win Friday, he has essentially the same record after the same number of games as Saint LaVell.