As a D.C. native, rooting for a losing team is something I’m used to. Since I really started following Washington sports in middle school, the Redskins have lost five out of their last seven seasons; the Wizards have only had two seasons with winning percentages above .500; and the Nationals and Capitals both consistently fail to perform during the post-season despite stellar regular season play year after year.
Moral of the story: rooting for a losing team is a norm for me. For Virginia football head coach Bronco Mendenhall, it’s not.
In Mendenhall’s 11 seasons as head coach at Brigham Young University, not once did the Cougars have a losing season. In fact, their worst season was a 6-6 split leaving them sitting right at .500. 10 impressive winning seasons and two conference championships later, Mendenhall now faces a season with a team that has lost seven of their last eight seasons.
Rooting for a losing team is not easy. But coaching one? That’s a whole different ball game.
As the Cavaliers draw closer to their season opener, I cannot help but wonder how a team accustomed to losing will play for a coach who’s accustomed to winning — and vice versa. How will a winning coach react to a losing team?
Pre-season predictions have Virginia struggling to score a win in the ACC and falling 95th overall in the rankings. While conference losses are not new for most of the players on the Cavaliers’ 2016 team, Mendenhall himself has yet to experience a season without a conference win.
Of course Mendenhall must know what he is getting into. He committed to coach a team that was struggling to sustain a successful program when he signed on in December, but actually coping with those struggles when the losses might start to come starting in September is easier said than done.
The results Mendenhall wants may not come this year or even next. To be completely honest, it may take even longer than that. Rebuilding a football program takes time and reshaping a program requires patience — the fans know that, the team knows that, the coaches know that, the University knows that — but how much patience the team and Mendenhall have will be the true testament to the success of this season. Thankfully, Mendenhall has repeatedly emphasized a football program focused on rewarding hard work rather than praising results. This Mendenhall culture might be exactly what the Cavaliers need to get through this transition period.
“To go from losing to winning close games is a ton of work, not a little work, and that's what we've taken on,” Mendenhall said.
I want our Cavaliers to do well this season — don’t get me wrong. Mendenhall was an excellent choice as London’s replacement, but I am wary of Mendenhall’s ability to motivate a team that is so starkly dissimilar to Brigham Young. Even though he acknowledges the challenges that Virginia faces in trying to win tough games, it is not a challenge he faced at BYU. He has never had to cope with a losing season, never had to reshape a team in such dire shape. For Mendenhall, these are all uncharted waters.
“Eventually we'll play good football. But we work on toughness and effort [first],” Mendenhall said.
So here’s my preseason prediction: this season will not be about the wins. This season will be about a Cavalier football culture change — a focus on progress and productivity; a discipline and determination; a value shift. The wins will come, but for now Mendenhall will work magic on Virginia morale as long as he can keep his own up when the going gets tough.
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