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PROVO — Through his first nine years as head football coach at BYU Bronco Mendenhall has led the Cougars to an impressive 82-34 record. He won two Mountain West Conference championships in six years, finished second twice, has five seasons with at least 10 wins, has had teams finish in the Top 25 five times (finishing at No. 12 in 2009), and has yet to post a losing season.
LaVell Edwards, for whom the football stadium is named, was 75-31-1 in his first nine years at the helm of the Cougars. During that span (1972-1980), Edwards' teams finished in the top 25 three times (finishing at No. 12 in 1980), had two years with at least 10 wins, won six conference championships, had only one losing season, and a 1-4 bowl record.
While the first nine years at the helm are very comparable (Edwards won more conference championships while Mendenhall has compiled more wins and a better bowl record), Mendenhall has been the subject of many BYU fans' wrath, while Edwards has been exalted in BYU football lore.
Before Edwards, BYU football had no rich history
Before Edwards was promoted to head coach in 1972, the Cougars had won only one conference championship in their history. Of Edwards’ 10 predecessors, only two finished with overall winning records.
When he was promoted to head coach, Edwards felt he would probably be fired before long and decided to do something radically different: employ an offensive scheme that revolved around the forward pass.
By Year three, BYU won a conference championship and made a bowl game. Both accomplishments became routine in Provo during his tenure. The Cougars never looked back and Edwards had made the program relevant and consistently competitive for the first time since its inception.
Mendenhall also ignited a program that had been floundering and quickly returned the Cougars to a winning tradition. In Mendenhall’s second year, BYU won a conference championship and finished 15th in the nation.
In the three previous seasons before Mendenhall assumed head coaching duties, BYU compiled a 14-21 record, repeatedly regressed as the seasons wore on and had a highly publicized off-the-field scandal involving some of former coach Gary Crowton’s recruits.
While Mendenhall’s resurrection of the BYU football program has been impressive, he does not have the benefit of being the first person to lead the team to success and has been inevitably compared to Edwards. Many fans and media members are deciding Mendenhall has not measured up.
Edwards coached before the explosion of technology
While college football was a major part of American sport culture throughout Edwards’ career, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media outlets had not yet been created.
For much of his career, ESPN and other sports-focused TV stations had not yet become the juggernauts they are now. Fans and media had relatively limited access into the program through the 1970s and 1980s. As such, Edwards was allowed to make learning mistakes as a head coach without being overly scrutinized. By the time the Internet became readily available to most Americans, Edwards was firmly entrenched as the face of BYU football and the architect behind its success.
In contrast, Mendenhall’s career coincides perfectly with the explosion of social media. Any and all mistakes Mendenhall has made, particularly on the football field, have been examined from every single angle and receive widespread distribution. Comment boards have become more and more popular through his tenure and have given open forums for rabid fans to express their displeasure. With new platforms, upset fans have gained more strength in shaping the perception of the program and its direction.
Edwards managed the media better
While Edwards faced less media scrutiny than Mendenhall, Edwards was also better at managing the press than Mendenhall. Edwards was known as being witty and engaging, but also benevolently elusive when asked to make predictions or to comment on controversial subjects.
Even when facing dreadful competition, Edwards did not provide any bulletin board material and was complimentary to all of his opponents and their coaches. Edwards had strong rapport with many press members who partially helped shape his legacy through their positive rhetoric about him and his teams.
Mendenhall’s public struggles with the media are two-fold. First, it is a poorly kept secret that he is not fond of the media. It is clear that he does not enjoy this element of his job and looks at it as a duty and responsibility. Second, Mendenhall is perhaps too forthright for his own good. He openly talks about his lofty goals of winning a national championship and does not evade questions or topics that could be construed as controversial. His candor has occasionally drawn ire from fans, media and opponents alike.
Given his frosty relationship with the media at times, it is not surprising that Mendenhall is often painted in a negative light in articles about him and the program.
Edwards won a national championship
After winning 11 or more games in four of the previous five seasons, Edwards’ 1984 team completed an undefeated season. Its unblemished record, mixed with some fortuitous losses by other teams ranked in the top 5 around them, made the Cougars the consensus national champion.
The championship would forever cement Edwards’ spot as a legend in Provo. However, the championship did not escape the wrath of the most powerful men in college football who would systematically take steps to ensure that a team outside of the BCS conferences would not win another one. Still, Edwards had set a precedent — BYU could win it all.
Since 1984, unfair as it may be, all BYU teams have been measured against the national championship squad. While Mendenhall has had some excellent years (going 11-2 three times), many fans in Provo believe that a season can only be special if there are no losses. Undefeated seasons by rivals TCU, Utah and Boise State have not helped with that perception.
More like Edwards
Thus far, Mendenhall has been a tremendous coach for BYU. His teams have been remarkably consistent and the nightmares, both on the field and off, of the Crowton era seem like ancient history.
Still, the dissenters are getting louder and more vicious. Edwards gave Mendenhall advice on Mendenhall’s first day in which he told Mendenhall to be himself and nobody else. Mendenhall has taken that counsel to heart and been wildly successful doing things his way. Yet, regardless of his success, many fans and media members wish he were more like Edwards. Perhaps only an undefeated season will in fact alleviate that.
