COACHING: TRIBUTE TO ONE OF THE GREATS

While it is still October and the month that he was born, let's go back in time to honor one of the greatest college football coaches: LaVell Edwards. LaVell Edwards coached at BYU from 1972 to 2000, and by any measure should be included in any legitimate conversation about the top college football coaches. Without him, we would have no BCS controversy today. Without him, and this is no overstatement, the states of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho would not exist in the football world. From 1972 to 2000 he won 257 games (far more than BYU had won since the inception of football at the school). He won 10 consecutive conference championships from 1976 to 1985. He brought a National Championship to the Inter mountain region before Florida and Florida State won their first National Championships. He brought a Heisman Trophy to the region. According to Wikipedia, Edwards "is considered the founder of the spread formation passing attack, and one of the most influential and innovative minds in college football history." He raised the level of competition to the point that his teams were regularly beating highly ranked opponents, which naturally raised the recruiting and the level of play among all the teams in the region. Edwards was well liked and respected by virtually everyone in the game.