Utah State could be turning back to a familiar face in its search for a new coach.
Gary Andersen, who was the head coach at the school from 2009-12, could be returning to the Aggies as a replacement for Matt Wells, multiple media outlets reported.
Wells, who succeeded Andersen as head coach at Utah State, was named the new head coach at Texas Tech on Nov. 30.
Andersen, who moved onto head coaching jobs at Wisconsin and Oregon State following his tenure at Utah State, currently is the associate head coach and defensive line assistant at Utah.
On Friday night, The Athletic reported that donors at Utah State were lobbying for the school to bring back Andersen, who was 26-24 in four seasons with the Aggies, including an 11-2 mark in his final year in 2012. He also led Utah State to its first bowl win since 1993.
Andersen went 19-7 in two seasons at Wisconsin before heading to Oregon State, where he abruptly decided to leave the school midway through his third season in October 2017.
Utah hired Andersen in January. Andersen played for the school in 1995-96 and was a defensive line coach for the Utes from 1997-2002.
Andersen eventually landed at Utah State in 2006 and spent four seasons as the defensive coordinator under Kyle Whittingham from 2005 to 2008 before taking over the head coaching position.
For his career, Andersen has a 52-54 record as an FBS head coach at Utah State, Wisconsin and Oregon State.
