The two-year coaching tenure of Dave Arslanian came to a swift end Thursday when he was fired as the coach of the Utah State football team.
The Utah State administration wasted no time in choosing a replacement, naming Mick Dennehy, who has compiled a 39-12 record at Montana over the past four years. A press conference to introduce the new coach was scheduled for Friday afternoon.Although Arslanian had been on the hot seat after going 3-8 last year and starting off poorly this year, many were caught by surprise by the move, particularly after the Aggies finished strong with two road victories.
Arslanian had completed just two years of a four-year contract and was trying to build the program with freshmen. Both years he was saddled with extremely difficult non-league schedules, including four bowl teams in Georgia, Kansas State, Utah and BYU this year.
However, the decision may have been made long before those last two games and had more to do with other reasons besides losing.
USU athletic director Rance Pugmire, who has been on the job just four months, indicated waning fan interest was a factor in the decision to let Arslanian go. Except for a sellout against BYU, attendance was down this year and only 8,000 showed up for the home finale against New Mexico State on a beautiful November afternoon.
"We need to win some fans back with an exciting brand of winning football," Pugmire said.
Pugmire said Arslanian has been offered another position at Utah State. Efforts to reach Arslanian Friday morning were unsuccessful.
"Dave Arslanian has a tremendous amount of class and has led the team with integrity," said Pugmire. "However we are at a critical point in our program right now and believe a change needed to be made at this time."
Dennehy will be the Aggies' fifth head coach in the last 10 years. Chuck Shelton completed a six-year stint in 1991 and was replaced by Charlie Weatherbie, who coached three years before moving on to Navy. John L. Smith took over in 1995 and coached three years before Arslanian replaced him prior to the 1998 season. No Aggie coach since Phil Krueger in the mid-1970s has compiled a career winning record.
The 49-year-old Dennehy took over at Montana in 1996 after serving as an assistant at Montana for five years. In his first year, he led the Grizzlies to a 14-1 record and the I-AA championship game where his team was defeated by Marshall University.
Montana finished 8-4 the next two seasons, and last week completed a 9-3 year with a loss to Youngstown State in the first round of the I-AA playoffs. Every year Dennehy was at Montana his team finished in the top five in the nation in total offense. This past season with ex-BYU quarterback Drew Miller at the helm, the Grizzlies averaged 46 points and 517 yards per game.
"Montana has had a model program and has dominated its league for years," Pugmire said. "Mick has been at the heart of that success and we are fortunate to attract a coach of his caliber to Utah State University. As we checked references, it became very clear that not only would this be a great catch for Utah State, but this hire would be a great fit for the community."
Dennehy is a native of Butte, Mont. and is a 1973 graduate of the University of Montana, where he was an all-conference safety. He was a successful high school coach for 14 years, before moving on to college coaching. He was head coach at Western Montana for two years before moving on to Montana as an assistant.
"The commitment to win that the administration at Utah State has made, is something that as a football coach, is all you can ask," Dennehy said. "I am firmly convinced that the commitment is there and now it is our job to get it done."
Among the coaches on Dennehy's Montana staff is Derrick Odum, who played defensive back for Utah from 1988-92.