LOGAN — Fifteen years ago Mike Santiago and Brent Guy met through a mutual friend. The two continued bumping into each other while recruiting for their universities over the years.
Now they are working together on the Utah State football staff, with the charge to turn around a program that hasn't had a winning season since 1996.
Guy left his job as the defensive coordinator at Arizona State last year, while Santiago was fired as the head coach at Div. I-AA Stephen F. Austin, despite posting six consecutive winning seasons.
"We kind of got in touch with each other and it took a little while for me to make a decision," said Santiago, who was mulling over other jobs both inside and outside football.
"I knew Brent was on a staff and had a large part to play in their bowl and winning," he said. "He had won here in Logan before. I felt not only that, but in his abilities as a coach — he's a guy that can get this done."
While still stewing over his decision, he and his wife, Rochelle, a native of Albuquerque, N.M., drove through Sardine Canyon, and it caught his wife hook, line and sinker.
"When we came though the canyon (and the valley opened in front of her) she turned to me and said, 'Santiago, this is so me,' " he said. "And I said, 'Rochelle, there goes any contract negotiations.' "
Further cementing the deal was the enthusiasm and direction of Randy Spetman, Utah State's director of athletics, who hired Guy in December 2004.
"I felt there were two guys in place that needed to be in that could turn this thing around," he said.
Santiago, who graduated from SUU in 1977, has an extensive history and success while working not only as a head coach but also as an offensive coordinator or quarterbacks coach at Northern Arizona, Western Michigan, Southwest Texas and McNeese State.
As the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at McNeese State, his team led the Southland Conference in passing in 1996 and scoring offense in 1997 and 1998.
"He runs the style of offense I was interested in, where you can get the quarterback involved in the running game," Guy said.
In his first season at SFA in 1999 the team went 8-3 in posting the best turnaround in Div. I-AA football that year after going just 3-8 the year before. After a 6-5 year last year, he was fired.
"We did things at Stephen F. Austin that had never been done. We took them places they had never been. It came down to politics," he said. "If it would have been about football I would have been upset."
At Utah State, Santiago inherited an offense that ranked 111th in the nation last season in total offense (290.4 yards per game).
"After it got closer in the decision process I started looking at it (the offense) and there were some struggles," he said. "It's a complete rebuild and it's a heckuva challenge and that's fine. That's what we do; that's why we're here."
Santiago runs a pro-style offense, where they can pass and run with efficiency if the offense is run correctly. He may throw the ball 40 times, if the defense dictates, or he will run it 40 times.
Redshirt sophomore Leon Jackson III, who has nine games of college experience but no starts, will start for the Aggies in Saturday's season opener at the University of Utah. The game kicks off at 6 p.m. and can be seen on KJZZ or ESPN Game Plan.
Freshman Ryan Bohm, junior Marcus Crawford and sophomore Chris Forbes, who started last year, will be keys in running the football, while Kevin Robinson and Tony Pennyman, who were 1-2 in receptions, yards and touchdowns last year, will anchor the wide receivers.
"It wasn't hard to figure out who the playmakers are, and I think everybody on our schedule knows who the playmakers are," Santiago said. "We need other playmakers to step it up."
Santiago was part of the turnaround at McNeese State and SFA, so he has faith in his abilities.
"We did it there. Was it easy? No," he said. "It took a lot of hard work and everybody pulling together, but we got it done."
In his short time with the Aggies, he is beginning to see cohesion take place.
"It wasn't easy for them," Santiago said. "Some of them have had a couple different coaches since they've been here. All these guys are on the ship with us. . . . There are players here that deserve the opportunity to win, and I think our job as coaches it to put them in a position to win."
E-mail: jhinton@desnews.com