COLUMN: Andersen’s hiring brings mixed emotions for many Aggie fans

So it’s officially happened. Gary Andersen is once again the head coach of the Utah State Aggies. Who would have thought I would ever be typing those words? Certainly not I.

Growing up in Cache Valley, I sat in Romney Stadium during terrible weather games to watch a one or two-win Utah State team get demolished far too many times. I then watched Coach Andersen bring this program out of its grave, guide it to just its third bowl game in 50 years, and take the Aggies to heights I never thought I would see.

So why, six years later, am I so hesitant to call this a home run hire? My freshman self — who rushed the field several times during that magical 2012 season, who was there to hear Coach A tell Aggie nation how much he loved them, and who was then so devastated just days later to hear that the coach who resurrected Aggie football would be departing — would like to know the same thing.

When I first heard the news that this hire was going to happen, I collected my thoughts the way all normal people do (I think). By compiling a pros and cons list in the ever-reliable iPhone notes app. I will try to convey some of those scattered thoughts as eloquently as possible.

First, let’s start with the pros.

Kerwynn Williams gets a hug post-game from Coach Gary Andersen after USU’s big bowl victory./Delayne Locke photo

The most obvious reason why Aggie fans should be, and are, excited about this hire is the fact that Andersen has already proven that he can win at Utah State. Of course winning in the Mountain West is significantly more challenging than winning in the WAC, but Gary will also be inheriting an 10 (possibly 11) win team with a stud sophomore quarterback and a young core rather than a three-win Brent Guy team with Diondre Borel. His tactics may not have worked at Oregon State, but there’s no glaringly evident reason that he shouldn’t be able to pick up where he left off at USU.

Andersen is a players’ coach, and a fantastic recruiter. An outpouring of support from former Aggie stars voicing their approval of the hire on Twitter and by other means is evidence of that. If this year’s recruiting class is as good as Wells led everyone to believe, it may just be the strongest recruiting class Utah State has seen. Aggie fans should be encouraged to know that Andersen wasted no time reaching out to these recruits, and keeping this class together would be an enormous accomplishment.

Then there’s the point which I’ve heard so often in recent days, that this is likely Andersen’s last coaching stop. At 54 years old, he likely still has several years ahead of him, and the hope is that now he has been on the other side where the grass was not, in fact, greener, even great success wouldn’t lure him away from Logan. Now, do I know if there’s any truth to this? Absolutely not. But for a program which is, let’s face it, viewed as nothing more than a stepping stone to most coaches, having someone who may be in it for the long haul is enticing to Aggie fans.

Those are big, big reasons to “bring Gary home.” I get why fans are excited, and I share some of that excitement as well. But it’s important to look at the other side as well.

Ask any Oregon State fan, as delusional as Beavers fans may sometimes be, what they think about this hire. They’ll laugh so hard they nearly lose consciousness. To say things went poorly for Anderson in Corvallis may be putting it lightly. Sure, he took over a really tough situation there, and not many coaches have figured out the formula to win at Oregon State. But the way things fizzled out with a mid-season departure and a bizarre string of text messages between he and a local reporter in which he put most of the blame for his failures on his coaching staff was nothing short of alarming.

Andersen is also at a different point in his career. Rather than being a young, ambitious up-and-comer as he was when he flipped the Utah State program, he’s now been there and done that, and who knows how that changes things. Now, I certainly can’t speak to his ambition at this point of his career, and I’m not going to be the reporter who tries to play psychologist. But his failures at Oregon State may lead Aggie fans to be wary that they are not getting the same coach which led USU to a No. 16 ranking during his final year in Logan.

Last but not least, I think most of the hesitation on part of Aggie faithful comes from this bizarre coaching search. If the reports are true, many of which have come from trusted and reliable journalists, Utah State spent a healthy chunk of money to hire a search firm in attempt to seek out the best possible candidate, just to hire the old familiar face because of “pressure from donors.” That’s a little bit alarming. I really don’t think it’s likely that Gary comes in here and the program bombs in the next few years. But when you consider the big names that were out there which had shown interest in this job, unless this program carries continued success for several years to come, there will always be that question of “what if John Hartwell were allowed to do his due diligence.”

This feels like a “boom or bust” hire. A high-ceiling hire with plenty of risk involved. That said, it’s an exciting time for Aggie fans. While I believe cautious optimism may be in order, Utah State is coming off one of the best seasons in program history and will now place an Aggie legend back at the helm. Will it work out? Only time will tell.

In the meantime, sit back and enjoy the ride.

– jadencrockettjohnson@gmail.com

Twitter: @jadenjohnson00