Introduction
Reuben LaVell Edwards (October 11, 1930 – December 29, 2016) was an American football head coach for Brigham Young University (BYU). With 257 career victories, he ranked as one of the most successful college football coaches of all time. Among his many notable accomplishments, Edwards guided BYU to a national championship in 1984 and coached Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer in 1990.
Edwards played football for Utah State University and earned a master's degree at the University of Utah prior to coaching at BYU.
Coaching career
Edwards was BYU's head football coach from 1972 to 2000. His offensive scheme was passing-dominated. He started coaching in an era when college football offenses were dominated by strong running attacks. His quarterbacks threw over 11,000 passes for more than 100,000 yards and 635 touchdowns. He got the idea to switch to a pass oriented team by looking at BYU's history. The BYU football program had struggled before Edwards with the notable exception of one conference championship that resulted from the aerial attack of Virgil Carter. This past success encouraged Edwards to open up the BYU offense.
Edwards coached prominent quarterbacks such as Steve Young, Jim McMahon, Ty Detmer, Marc Wilson, Robbie Bosco, Gary Scheide, Gifford Nielsen and Steve Sarkisian.
Awards won by his players include a Heisman Trophy, a Doak Walker Award, a Maxwell Award, two Outland Trophies, four Davey O'Brien Awards, seven Sammy Baugh Awards, 34 All-America citations (including 10 consensus All-Americans), 11 conference player of the year and 24 Academic All-America player citations.
In 1984, he was named National Coach of the Year after BYU finished the season 13–0 and won the National Championship. Edwards retired after the 2000 season with a 257–101–3 record.
Prior to Edwards' final game, the football stadium at BYU was renamed LaVell Edwards Stadium in his honor. At the time of his retirement, he ranked sixth in all-time victories, and second all-time in victories with a single program (behind only Joe Paterno at Penn State). Edwards received the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award, presented by the American Football Coaches Association, in 2003.
In the 1980 Holiday Bowl, BYU rallied from a 45–25 deficit with only 4 minutes to play to defeat Southern Methodist University (SMU).
Following the 1984 national championship, Edwards was offered the head coaching positions with the Detroit Lions as well as the University of Texas at Austin, but he turned down the offer.
Accomplishments
- 6th on NCAA all-time list for coaching victories (257)
- Member of the College Football Hall of Fame
- Coached 6 all-American quarterbacks
- His teams led the nation in passing offense 8 times
- His teams led the nation in total offense 5 times
- His teams led the nation in scoring offense 3 times
- ^ "LaVell Edwards, legendary BYU football coach, dead at 86". New York Daily News. December 30, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
- ^ "LaVell Edwards, who coached BYU for nearly 30 years, dies at 86". ESPN. December 30, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
- "LaVell Edwards, head football coach at BYU from 1972 to 2000, dies at 86". Deseret News. December 29, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
- ^
- ^ "LaVell Edwards, Coach Who Led B.Y.U. to a Football Title, Dies at 86". The New York Times. December 29, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
- ^ "LaVell Edwards, who made BYU a football power, dies at 86". The Washington Post. December 29, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
- ^ "BYU Football: Legendary football coach LaVell Edwards passes away". NCAA.com. December 29, 2016. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
- "Former BYU Head Coach LaVell Edwards passes away at the age of 86". ESPN 960. December 29, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
- ^ "Former BYU coach LaVell Edwards dies at the age of 86". USA Today. December 29, 2016. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
- ^ "Timeline: LaVell Edwards through the years". Deseret News. December 29, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
- "Former BYU head coach LaVell Edwards left a lasting legacy on the college football world but his greatest impact came off the field". SCOUT. December 30, 2016. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
- "Beehive State sports year in review: 2016 was definitely 'the year of coming close'". Deseret News. December 30, 2016. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
- "Legendary Hall of Fame college football coach LaVell Edwards dies at 86". KUTV.com. December 29, 2016. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
- ^ "Legendary BYU football coach LaVell Edwards dies". Fansided. December 30, 2016. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
Coaching tree
- Dick Felt, former BYU assistant athletic director / assistant head coach / defensive coordinator / defensive backfield coach (BYU defensive back / running back / punter)
- Mike Holmgren, former Seattle Seahawks Coach & Cleveland Browns President of Operations (BYU quarterbacks coach)
- Steve Sarkisian, former University of Southern California head coach (BYU quarterback)
- Hal Mumme, (SMU offensive coordinator)
- Mike Leach, Washington State head coach
- Norm Chow, former Hawaii head coach (BYU offensive coordinator)
- Dave Kragthorpe, former Oregon State head coach, (father of Steve Kragthorpe) (BYU offensive line coach)
- Kyle Whittingham, Utah head coach (BYU linebacker)
- Fred Whittingham, longtime NFL and college assistant coach (BYU defensive coordinator)
- Robert Anae, University of Virginia Offensive Coordinator (BYU offensive lineman)
- Brian Billick, former NFL head coach (BYU tight end / graduate assistant)
- Ted Tollner, former USC head coach (BYU offensive coordinator)
- Doug Scovil, former SDSU head coach (BYU offensive coordinator)
- Brandon Doman, former BYU offensive coordinator (BYU quarterback)
- Tom Holmoe, BYU athletic director & former Cal head coach (BYU defensive back)
- Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs head coach (BYU lineman / graduate assistant)
- Charlie Stubbs, Louisville offensive coordinator (BYU graduate assistant)
- Kalani Sitake, BYU Head Coach, (BYU running back, graduate assistant)
- Ty Detmer, BYU Offensive Coordinator, (BYU quarterback / Heisman Trophy winner)
- "BYU football: Edwards built great system, coaching staff". Deseret News. July 17, 2009. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
- ^
- ^ "Throwback Thursday: LaVell Edwards Coaching Tree". Fansided. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
- ^ "Talo Steves wrote about the life and legacy of former BYU head coach LaVell Edwards after his passing yesterday". SCOUT. December 31, 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
- ^ "RIP to BYU's LaVell Edwards, who built college football's unlikeliest champion". SB Nation. December 29, 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BYU Cougars (Western Athletic Conference) (1972–1998) | |||||||||
| 1972 | BYU | 7–4 | 5–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1973 | BYU | 5–6 | 3–4 | T–4th | |||||
| 1974 | BYU | 7–4–1 | 6–0–1 | 1st | L Fiesta | ||||
| 1975 | BYU | 6–5 | 4–3 | T–4th | |||||
| 1976 | BYU | 9–3 | 6–1 | T–1st | L Tangerine | ||||
| 1977 | BYU | 9–3 | 6–1 | T–1st | 16 | 20 | |||
| 1978 | BYU | 9–4 | 5–1 | 1st | L Holiday | ||||
| 1979 | BYU | 11–1 | 7–0 | 1st | L Holiday | 12 | 13 | ||
| 1980 | BYU | 12–1 | 6–1 | 1st | W Holiday | 11 | 12 | ||
| 1981 | BYU | 11–2 | 7–1 | 1st | W Holiday | 11 | 13 | ||
| 1982 | BYU | 8–4 | 7–1 | 1st | L Holiday | ||||
| 1983 | BYU | 11–1 | 7–0 | 1st | W Holiday | 7 | 7 | ||
| 1984 | BYU | 13–0 | 8–0 | 1st | W Holiday | 1 | 1 | ||
| 1985 | BYU | 11–3 | 7–1 | 1st | L Florida Citrus | 17 | 16 | ||
| 1986 | BYU | 8–5 | 6–2 | 2nd | L Freedom | ||||
| 1987 | BYU | 9–4 | 7–1 | 2nd | L All-American | ||||
| 1988 | BYU | 9–4 | 5–3 | T–3rd | W Freedom | ||||
| 1989 | BYU | 10–3 | 7–1 | 1st | L Holiday | 18 | 22 | ||
| 1990 | BYU | 10–3 | 7–1 | 1st | L Holiday | 17 | 22 | ||
| 1991 | BYU | 8–3–2 | 7–0–1 | 1st | T Holiday | 23 | 23 | ||
| 1992 | BYU | 8–5 | 6–2 | T–1st | L Aloha | ||||
| 1993 | BYU | 6–6 | 6–2 | T–1st | L Holiday | ||||
| 1994 | BYU | 10–3 | 6–2 | T–2nd | W Copper | 10 | 18 | ||
| 1995 | BYU | 7–4 | 6–2 | T–1st | |||||
| 1996 | BYU | 14–1 | 8–0 | 1st (Mountain) | W Cotton | 5 | 5 | ||
| 1997 | BYU | 6–5 | 4–4 | 5th (Mountain) | |||||
| 1998 | BYU | 9–5 | 7–1 | T–1st (Pacific) | L Liberty | ||||
| BYU Cougars (Mountain West Conference) (1999–2000) | |||||||||
| 1999 | BYU | 8–4 | 5–2 | T–1st | L Motor City | ||||
| 2000 | BYU | 6–6 | 4–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| BYU: | 257–101–3 | 175–42–2 | |||||||
| Total: | 257–101–3 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title | |||||||||
| #Rankings from final Coaches Poll. °Rankings from final AP Poll. | |||||||||
- Source: LaVell Edwards Coaching Record
Personal life
While head football coach at BYU, Edwards also earned a doctorate.
Following his retirement from coaching, Edwards remained a prominent leader and speaker for members of the LDS Church, which owns and operates BYU. He and his wife served an 18-month mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in New York City during 2002–2003.
Death
Edwards suffered a broken hip on December 24, 2016 and died five days later at his home in Provo on December 29, at the age of 86. A public memorial service was held at the Utah Valley Convention Center in Provo on January 6, 2017. A private funeral service for family and friends was then held the next day, on January 7th.