State your case: Will Wells leave

Ben Fordham

Anything can happen in the wild world of sports.

Did you think Bronco Mendenhall was going to ditch BYU for Virginia last week? I don’t think Matt Wells is itching to leave his alma mater, but crazier things have happened in college football.

Wells is a young guy with an impressive resume. He was named Mountain West Coach of the Year in his first season as he led the Aggies to a 9-5 record and defeated Northern Illinois in the Poinsettia Bowl. Wells followed up his rookie season with a 10-4 record and victory in the New Mexico Bowl.

Although 2015 wasn’t the greatest year for Wells, he still managed to get USU into a 5th consecutive bowl game. Wells is a winner and I wouldn’t be surprised if an athletic director from a power five conference feels the same way and lures him away from Logan.

bfordhamsix@gmail.com
Twitter: @bfordham6

Logan Jones

Coach Wells isn’t going anywhere — this year.

Don’t get me wrong, he’s totally going to be gone before his contract ends in 2019. His buyout is barely a rounding error to some of the more major football programs in this country. Wells will certainly be on the move, but not yet.

He probably needed to win a conference title this season in order to draw attention from the type of school he’d be willing to jump to. Not only do none of the current job openings in the national coaching landscape seem to be a good fit, but Wells won’t just leave for anyone.

He’s an alumnus. He played here at Utah State and has more of a connection to it than a coach typically has with his place of employment. Wells only leaves USU when he gets an offer he can’t refuse — a power five school looking to build from the ground up who recognizes Wells for the solid candidate that he is.

Schools will only extend that offer after a conference championship game appearance or a killer showing in a decent Bowl game. No, the Potato Bowl does not count.

— logantjones@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @logantj