And do you allow for the multitude of variables involved? If you are one who is black and white, then him saying it's a goal and not meeting it is grounds for being fired. For my own part, I consider that rather intuitive. The goal of every coach in America should be to win every game on their schedule and hoist the trophy. New Mexico State should have that goal.

Now for BYU, the second part of the quote is the far, far more poignant and important goal. It's the dichotomy between win at all costs...and win while upholding the values of the host institution. There are 119 schools for which winning is first, second and third. (Possibly a few less...I would guess there may be a few that truly value education and the building of future leaders, the academies, perhaps Notre Dame, etc.) At BYU winning is necessary because you must be winning enough to be able to showcase the LDS faith and principles...but it's the faith and principles that reign supreme. They should. Ultimately college football is a child's game being played by young men for entertainment.

Bronco Mendenhall is HIGHLY respected outside the BYU haters and a segment of the fan base. What's not to respect. He is a man of integrity. His players would run through walls for him. He embraces the mission and vision of the university and the Church...and he does win. He's never had a losing season...he's been ranked 5 out of his 10 years...he's led BYU through the turmoil that was conference realignment and has kept BYU relevant enough to be deemed P-5 by the P-5 conferences.

No one should be satisfied with anything less than winning every game...but there is some grasp of reality necessary when tempering that dissatisfaction. BYU is a geographically isolated school in a frigid environment with very tough academics...academics that at BYU the players actually have to do...and then there is of course the Honor Code which the vast majority of recruits look at like something out of the 16th Century.

Those of us who love BYU know it is much more than that...but we live in the age of instant information...and if you can get a kid to visit in spite of all the private messages he's being bombarded with daily...and if he gets a glimpse of what BYU is and can be to him...he still has to go back and endure the onslaught of messages from friends, family members, coaches, players he's met at camp...

I can assure you, the bulk of those messages are not extolling the virtues of the Honor Code, they are offering dire warnings of the Brandon Davis, Kyle Van Noy, Spencer Hadleyization that will most certainly occur to them if they make a mistake. BYU to those messengers is an hornet's nest of 35,000 spies lurking...ready to turn them in with documentary evidence. Lavell didn't face social media...and I have no doubt he is glad to have missed that "advance" in technology. We likely would have never celebrated Jimmy Mac last year had twitter and insta and Facebook been around.

When you consider those mitigating circumstances I think his accounting is quite good. In fact, my advice...teach those young men what BYU and Bronco represent...and how they are a light in the storm of win at all cost college athletics. Teach them to admire the program for extolling principles beyond a game...and for striving by word and deed to live those principles.

And then show them Taysom Hill running through Texas. If they can't get excited about that...it's not Bronco...it's that X-Box live they have in the basement.

Fans don't and won't ever need to hold Bronco accountable. If he ever truly fails in his mission he'll resign before Holmoe ever asks. He's that kind of guy, and he cares about the university and its mission far more than probably anyone on this board. It's essentially become his life's work.

In my opinion, any BYU fan who defects to Utah is missing the boat on what BYU is...and if they are LDS, they are embracing a fan base that loathes them and their faith. But...agency is a gift from God and the country is still free. Choose ye this day who ye will serve. I support BYU through thick and thin, because they are a rarity in the world of sports. As long as they are striving to win with class and in accordance with the mission of the host institution, I bleed blue.