Reuben LaVell Edwards (October 11, 1930 – December 29, 2016) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

head coach for

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

(BYU). With 257 career victories, he ranks as one of the most successful college football coaches of all time. Among his many notable accomplishments, Edwards guided BYU to a

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

in 1984 and coached

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

winner

Ty Detmer Ty Hubert Detmer (born October 30, 1967) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He won the Heisman Trophy in 1990 while playing college football for the BYU Cougars. D ...

in 1990. Edwards played football for

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah ...

and earned a master's degree prior to coaching at

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

, where he also earned his doctorate.

Coaching career

Edwards was BYU's head football coach from 1972 to 2000. He had previously served as an assistant coach from 1962 to 1971. 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 Jon Steven Young (born October 11, 1961) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. He also played for the Tampa Bay Buccane ...

Jim McMahon James Robert McMahon Jr. (born August 21, 1959) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, most notably with the Chicago Bears. McMahon played college football at BYU, where he wa ...

, Marc Wilson,

Robbie Bosco Robbie Bosco (born January 11, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played college football at Brigham Young University (BYU). He is a native of Roseville, California. College career In 1984, Bosco took over as starting quarterb ...

, Gary Scheide, Gifford Nielsen and Steve Sarkisian. Lavell Edwards Stadium

Awards won by his players include a

, a

Doak Walker Award Since 1990 the Doak Walker Award honors the top running back in college football in the United States. It is named in honor of Doak Walker, a former running back who played for the SMU Mustangs from 1945 to 1949 and in the National Football Le ...

, a

Maxwell Award The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best all ...

, two Outland Trophies, four

Davey O'Brien Award The Davey O'Brien Award, officially the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, named after Davey O'Brien, is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by the Davey O'Brien Foundation to be the best of all National Co ...

s, seven Sammy Baugh Awards, 34

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

citations (including 10 consensus All-Americans), 11 conference player of the year and 24

Academic All-America The Academic All-America program is a student-athlete recognition program. The program selects an honorary sports team composed of the most outstanding student-athletes of a specific season for positions in various sports—who in turn are giv ...

player citations. In 1984, he was named

National Coach of the Year The AFCA Coach of the Year Award is given annually to a college football coach by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). The award has had several different sponsors over the years, including Eastman Kodak Corporation, and thus also ...

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, BYU renamed its home field, Cougar Stadium, as

LaVell Edwards Stadium LaVell Edwards Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in the western United States, on the campus of Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. Primarily used for college football, it is the home field of the BYU Cougars, an independent in the ...

in his honor. The stadium had almost doubled in his capacity during his tenure, from 35,000 people when he took over the program to over 65,000 people upon his retirement. At the time of his retirement, he ranked sixth all-time in victories, and second all-time in victories with a single program (behind only

Joe Paterno Joseph Vincent Paterno (; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions football, Penn ...

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

). Edwards received the

Amos Alonzo Stagg Award :''There is a separate " Amos Alonzo Stagg Coaching Award". The Amos Alonzo Stagg Award is presented annually by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) to the "individual, group or institution whose services have been outstanding in t ...

, presented by the

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

, 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 , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

(SMU). Following the 1984 national championship, Edwards was offered head coaching positions with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

and the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

, but he turned down both offers.

Accomplishments

*22nd on

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

all-time list for coaching victories (257) *Member of the College Football Hall of Fame *Coached 6 all-American

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

s *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

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 Michael George Holmgren (born June 15, 1948) is a former American football coach and executive. He began his NFL career as a quarterbacks' coach and later as an offensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers, where they won Super Bowls XXI ...

, former

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

head coach,

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

president of operations (BYU quarterbacks coach) * Steve Sarkisian, University of Texas head coach & former University of Southern California head coach (BYU quarterback) *

Norm Chow Norman Yew Heen Chow (born May 3, 1946) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach for the Helvetic Guards in the European League of Football. He was the head football coach at the University of Hawaii at Man ...

, former Hawaii head coach (BYU offensive coordinator) *

Dave Kragthorpe Dave Kragthorpe (born May 1, 1933) is a former American football player He was the head football coach at South Dakota State University in 1969, Idaho State University from 1980 to 1982, and Oregon State University from 1985 to 1990, compiling a ...

, former Oregon State head coach, father of Steve Kragthorpe (BYU offensive line coach) *

Kyle Whittingham Kyle David Whittingham (born November 21, 1959) is an American football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at the University of Utah, a position he has held since 2005, and is the all-time leader in wins at Utah. Prior to bec ...

, Utah head coach (BYU linebacker) *

Fred Whittingham Fred George "Mad Dog" Whittingham (February 4, 1939 – October 27, 2003) was an American football player and coach. He played as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Sain ...

, longtime NFL and college assistant coach (BYU defensive coordinator) *

Robert Anae Robert Anae (born December 21, 1958) is an American football coach and former player who is current serving as the offensive coordinator (OC) for NC State since December 2022. Prior to NC State, he was the OC at the University of Virginia and Bri ...

, NC State offensive coordinator (BYU offensive lineman) *

Brian Billick Brian Harold Billick (born February 28, 1954) is an American former football coach and commentator. He was the offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings from 1994 to 1998; the team broke the NFL scoring record in the 1998 season. He the ...

, former NFL head coach (BYU tight end / graduate assistant) *

Ted Tollner Alfred Theodore Tollner (born May 29, 1940) is a former American football player and coach. He had served as the head coach at the University of Southern California (USC) from 1983 to 1986 and San Diego State University (SDSU) from 1994 to 2001, ...

, former USC head coach (BYU offensive coordinator) *

Doug Scovil Douglas Henry Scovil (July 1, 1927 – December 9, 1989) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California from 1966 to 1969 and at San Diego State Universit ...

, former SDSU head coach (BYU offensive coordinator) * Brandon Doman, former BYU offensive coordinator (BYU quarterback) *

Tom Holmoe Thomas Allen Holmoe (born March 7, 1960) is an American college athletics administrator and former football player and coach. He has been the athletic director at Brigham Young University (BYU) since 2005. Holmoe played college football at BYU ...

, BYU athletic director & former Cal head coach (BYU defensive back) *

Andy Reid Andrew Walter Reid (born March 19, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Reid was previously head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999 to 2012. From 200 ...

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

head coach (BYU lineman / graduate assistant) * Charlie Stubbs, Louisville offensive coordinator (BYU graduate assistant) *

Kalani Sitake Kelaokalani Fifita "Kalani" Sitake (born October 10, 1975) is a Tongan–American football coach and former player. He has been the head football coach at Brigham Young University (BYU) since December 2015, and is the first Tongan to become a ...

head coach, (BYU running back, graduate assistant) *

offensive coordinator, (BYU quarterback / Heisman Trophy winner) *

Gary Crowton David Gary Crowton (born June 14, 1957) is an American football coach. He is the offensive coordinator at Pine View High School in St. George, Utah, a position he has held since 2018. Crowton served as the head football coach at Louisiana Tec ...

, former Louisiana Tech and BYU head coach (BYU Graduate Assistant)

Head coaching record

*Source
LaVell Edwards Coaching Record
/small>

Personal life

While head football coach at BYU, Edwards also earned a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

. Following his retirement from coaching, Edwards remained a prominent leader and speaker for members of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church), which owns and operates BYU. He and his wife served an 18-month

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

for the LDS Church in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

during 2002 and 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 7.

References

External links

*
BYU Hall of Fame profile

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, LaVell 1930 births 2016 deaths 21st-century Mormon missionaries American football offensive linemen American Mormon missionaries in the United States BYU Cougars football coaches Utah State Aggies football players High school football coaches in Utah College Football Hall of Fame inductees Brigham Young University alumni Sportspeople from Orem, Utah Coaches of American football from Utah Players of American football from Utah Latter Day Saints from Utah