After two years away from BYU, Robert Anae is coming back to Provo.
Multiple outlets including the Deseret News and KFAN reported Friday morning that Anae was interviewing to come back as BYU’s offensive coordinator and offensive line coach as part of a larger reshuffling effort by head coach Bronco Mendenhall. The university later confirmed the news Friday evening.
“I am excited to announce Robert Anae as BYU’s offensive coordinator,” Mendenhall said in a statment. “During his career Robert has been involved with some of the best offensive schemes in college football, and he has a proven record of coaching elite-level offensive production. He is also a man of great intelligence, personal integrity, complete honesty and total loyalty. Robert is the ideal person to oversee our offense, and I’m thrilled he will be returning to BYU.”
Anae was the Cougars’ offensive coordinator from 2005-10 before resigning and moving on to Arizona as the Wildcats’ offensive line coach, where he spent one year under former coach Mike Stoops and this season under Rich Rodriguez.
“I’d like to thank Greg Burns, Rich Rodriguez and the Arizona staff and players for an outstanding year in 2012. It was my privilege to be part of the Arizona program the past two years and to have coached the players I worked with in Tucson,” Anae said. “I’d like to thank Tom Holmoe, Bronco Mendenhall and the BYU administration for the opportunity to return to BYU. My family and I look forward to an outstanding experience in a very familiar place.”
While Anae is expected to determine who on the offensive side of the ball is retained, it is believed that his OC replacement in 2011 and 2012, Brandon Doman, will retain his job as the team’s quarterbacks coach.
BYU ranked No. 56 nationally in total offense and No. 65 in scoring offense this year while finishing 8-5. Four of the Cougars’ five losses were decided by a touchdown or less with BYU scoring an average of 14 points in those games. BYU finished the year with a 23-6 win over San Diego State in the Poinsettia Bowl, although linebacker Kyle Van Noy could have been considered the team’s best offensive weapon in that game.