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Bronco Mendenhall shouldn't be coaching the Cougars in the Vegas Bowl.

No way.

He should go where he belongs, and where he belongs is not in Provo, not in Vegas, not on the sidelines, leading his former — former — team.

Mendenhall should be concerning himself with the program that is now paying him $3 million-plus a year to do exactly that — the Virginia Cavaliers. As he proclaimed at his introductory press conference in Charlottesville, "I'm the newest Wahoo."

Well. Which is it: Wahoo or BYU?

The man can't do or be both — not the way they should be done. Slipping on a BYU jacket or a cap changes nothing. In the so-prevalent terminology of Bronco during his 11 years at BYU, let us quote the Holy Coaching Writ, as penned by Coach Matthew so many seasons ago: "No man can serve two masters."

Slightly altering another exalted source, to quote Bo Schembechler: BYU should be coached by a BYU man.

Bronco Mendenhall is no longer a BYU man.

He's somebody else's guy.

He should not have the headset on, should not even be a part of the preparation, as the Cougars attempt to knock off rival Utah in next week's Royal Purple, ironically, the color you get when you mix red and blue.

And it's nothing personal or petty. I made the same argument when Urban Meyer left Utah for Florida in 2004 but stayed on to lead the Utes in the Fiesta Bowl. Coaches now are afforded the option of dumping their teams whenever they see fit, whenever the so-called better opportunity comes along. To transfer, student-athletes have to get clearance, and even when they do, they must sit out a year. Not coaches. They do what they want. The fact that Mendenhall announced his departure two weeks before the bowl game can be considered nothing but bad timing for BYU.

It is left for the Cougars to pick up the pieces and move forward.

Just one of the problems in letting Mendenhall stay aboard through Vegas is this: Who will get the bigger bang for the bowl, Bronco or BYU?

Every glance at the coach during that contest — and there will be many nationally televised camera shots — will bring to mind and reinforce the idea that he's Virginia's lead dog, not BYU's. That turns the game into a three-hour advertisement for the Cavalier program. It will benefit Virginia's recruiting effort as much, if not more, than BYU's.

It transforms the Vegas Bowl into the Bronco Bowl.

That's the way it is in the modern college game. Head coaches get the big money, they get the spotlight. If you don't buy that, count the number of minutes during that game devoted to Mendenhall versus Tanner Mangum. Brent Musburger and Jesse Palmer will be all over it.

Under this scenario, under the Vegas sun, Mendenhall is the Daddy, the Cougars are the ugly stepchildren, or even worse, invisible ones.

We all get it. As mentioned, it's simply the way it works these days. Coaches preach to their teams to play for the name on the front of their jerseys, not the name on the back. They preach teamwork and selflessness and concern for the greater good, they preach spirit, honor, integrity, and then they bolt for bigger money before the season is righteously punctuated, leaving their players, their team in a kind of no-man's land, a place where those players have to scramble to put their best effort on the field, uncertain of what comes next. Meanwhile, their leader is off in Charlottesville, firing up Cavs fans, telling them what great potential their program has, what terrific things can be accomplished there.

It's the hypocrisy of college football.

It is true that finding replacements, temporary or otherwise, for Bronco and departing assistants would be complicated, but worthwhile still, on the grounds of principle alone. Even if Tom Holmoe had to step out of his office and onto the sideline for the bowl game.

Maybe some give Bronco a pass because he stayed for most of those 11 seasons and won 99 games. But answer this question: What would it have hurt for him to wait another two weeks before announcing that he was leaving?

Here's what it would have hurt: Virginia football.

Instead, BYU football is hurt, losing time in the form of recruitment, losing focus and direction on the part of the staff that is going with Mendenhall and the guys who are left behind or who are left out completely.

But Mendenhall scarfs his cake and keeps it, too, all while those who blindly shake his hand and thank him for his service at BYU and who want him to stay on and coach the Cougars in the bowl game — including some of the players — because it's the sweet, neighborly thing to do are shorted, even as their neighborliness is taken advantage of. Go Cavs.

If a wife says she's leaving a husband for another man — or vice versa — does the jilted spouse invite him or her to stick around the house for another couple of weeks because the past 11 years have been pretty good?

No.

Again, it has nothing to do with anger or jealousy. It has to do with allegiance and loyalty and principle, and the future good.

Schembechler was bang on: BYU should be coached by a BYU man, not the guy who used to be a BYU man, even if Holmoe and others have to step in for one game to finish what wasn't properly finished by the guy who chose to go someplace else.

Coach Matthew got it right, too.

GORDON MONSON hosts "The Big Show" with Spence Checketts weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on 97.5 FM and 1280 AM The Zone. Twitter: @GordonMonson.