Since coach E.L. "Dick" Romney concluded a successful 29-year run as head coach at Utah State in 1948, the Aggies have gone through 14 football coaches. That's 14 coaches in 52 years, an average span of four years per coach.
The coach with the longest tenure was Bruce Snyder, who coached in Logan for seven seasons (1976-82) and was also one of the most successful with three straight winning seasons (nobody since has even had two winning seasons total).
The 60-year-old Snyder will be on the opposite sideline Saturday night in Tempe when Utah State meets Arizona State. Snyder has made three stops since leaving Utah State and has been the coach at Arizona State for nine years.
"I have really fond feelings and memories of Utah State," said Snyder earlier this week. "It was a great time in our life as a family. Two of my daughters were born in Logan. It was my first head coaching job. My first win was against Utah (28-17 in 1976), and I still have the game ball."
Snyder enjoyed several highlights during his time at Utah State, including a 24-7 win over BYU in Provo in 1978, just a year after a devastating 65-6 loss in Logan. There was also a 47-21 win over Utah in Salt Lake in 1979 and back-to-back Pacific Coast Athletic Association titles in '78 and '79. His Aggies also defeated BYU 20-17 in 1982, his final season at USU.
Snyder left Logan after the '82 season when his team finished 5-6 but not because he had to. His good friend John Robinson had been hired as the coach of the Los Angeles Rams and told Snyder, "I need a coach."
He stayed there for four years and then returned to the collegiate ranks as the head coach at the University of California. By his fourth and fifth seasons his teams went 7-4-1 and 10-2, and Snyder was offered the job at another Pac-10 school, Arizona State.
During his nine years at ASU, Snyder has had his ups and downs while compiling a 52-39 record. In 1996, the Sun Devils came within a few minutes of winning a national title, but Ohio State pulled out a win in the Rose Bowl, a loss that some ASU fans still blame on Snyder.
The Sun Devils followed up the 11-1 season with a 9-3 year in 1997. However, now Snyder is under fire in Arizona after consecutive mediocre seasons of 5-6 and 6-6, although it would be hard to let him go since he still has four years left on his contract.
Snyder says he has no regrets about not staying longer at Utah State and says he cherishes the relationships he had with people such as athletic director Ladell Andersen and assistant coaches such as Terry Shea, Kent Baer and Keith Gilbertson.
"I've often said I could have stayed there a long time and been happy," said Snyder.
With experience at Utah State, Snyder has some ideas on how the Aggies can find success. He feels continuity, something the Ags have been lacking with six coaches since he left in 1982, is most important.
"You've got to establish continuity," said Snyder. "You need to find a coach you really like who is good to the kids and then do everything you can to keep him. If you get a good coach and he's the right guy, you give him what he needs. There will be some good years and some down years, but if you hang in there, you'll have success."
Now Snyder is hoping that Arizona State officials and fans will stick with him after a couple of down years.
"Everywhere I've gone, I've planted a tree so I could watch it grow," he said. "I planted a tree when I came here, and I want to keep watching it grow."
E-MAIL: sor@desnews.com