| | By Ed Graney
Special to ESPN.com
He knew, of course. Knew for some time. Knew since early January.
Still, LaVell Edwards sat at the Mountain West Conference preseason football meetings in Las Vegas last month and sidestepped questions about his possible retirement like a BYU quarterback might a blitzing linebacker.
"Obviously, the day is getting closer," Edwards said. "Heck, one of these days I'm going to die. When you get to be my age, you run out of time. I'll address it somewhere down the road."
Short road.
|  | | BYU's LaVell Edwards has 251 career victories. |
Edwards, 70, announced last week he will walk away at season's end, walk away from his own personal 29-year air raid, from the gaudy records and offensive milestones. The man with the face of a mortician and the heart of a lion had
planned on becoming a high school guidance counselor before BYU hired him.
Instead, he transformed a nothing program into 20 conference titles, 20 bowl games and a national championship in 1984.
That's the stuff of legend.
"He is a very dear friend first, and that doesn't even begin to touch on the professional respect I have for him," said San Diego State coach Ted Tollner, who served on Edwards' staff in 1981 and has coached against him in the WAC and now Mountain West. "He built a program that has basically dominated our league for years. And what he did financially for that school, leading in the expansion of their stadium and then selling out 65,000 seats each week ...
"Through it all, he has been the one constant. His career is a tremendous success story."
The alarm clocked sounded in Provo this past spring, like it has for years now, but the ring lacked its traditional high pitch. The batteries were low. Those who saw Edwards daily spoke of a tired man, of a 69-year-old body struggling to keep pace with its mind and emotions.
It's a tad ironic, really. BYU plays a schedule this season that resembles more death march than anything. The Cougars open against defending national champion Florida State in Saturday's Pigskin Classic.
Over the next five weeks, BYU plays at Virginia and Syracuse and hosts Mississippi State, while also mixing in conference games at Air Force and
against UNLV.
That alarm should have stirred the entire state of Utah.
It didn't budge Edwards.
"You could see (Edwards) wasn't always himself the past several months," said senior safety Jared Lee. "He has been so consistent for so long ... It's tough watching him leave, but we all know this is what he wants. There are many other things he wants to accomplish in his life."
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I just think it's the best time. My life has been very good. I have my health. I've been very fortunate. ” |
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— BYU coach LaVell Edwards |
Heaven knows he accomplished just about everything a coach possibly could. Edwards is the third active winningest coach with 251 victories, sitting behind only Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden, whom he encounters tomorrow. BYU has passed for more than 100,000 yards under Edwards, just under 57 miles. He has tutored and trotted out the likes of Jim McMahon, Steve Young and Ty Detmer, a Heisman Trophy winner.
The game scoffed at Edwards when he began throwing so much. He never
laughed back. He could have.
He is the gardener and classic movie buff and doting grandfather and loving
husband of 49 years. Golf is his passion. Nature is his escape. He is a spiritual man with a sharp wit and calm demeanor.
And soon, he will be gone from our view.
"I just think it's the best time," Edwards said. "My life has been very good. I have my health. I've been very fortunate."
There was this theory once about BYU football:
Doug Scovil, credited for advancing BYU's passing game in its toddler
stages, had just left as offensive coordinator to become head coach at SDSU. Many predicted BYU's offense would never recover, that the Cougars were speeding on a highway to nowhere.
That was 20 years ago.
Moral of the story: Sometimes, it is just about one man. A man who is ahead of his time and knows when it's time to leave.
LaVell Edwards always was one step ahead of the game.
Ed Graney covers college football for the San Diego Union Tribune. He can be reached at ed.graney@uniontrib.com. | |
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