After 26 years as a major contributor to BYU's football success, assistant coach Dick Felt is moving on.
BYU called a press conference for Monday afternoon to announce that Felt, the Cougars' assistant head coach and secondary coach, would be reassigned as an assistant to athletic director Clayne Jensen."I wasn't asked to leave, or anything like that," Felt said. "It's my decision completely. It came as a surprise to (coach) LaVell Edwards."
"It's strictly his call," Edwards said. "I've told him he can coach as long as I coach."
Health was the major factor in the 60-year-old Felt's decision. He underwent open-heart surgery during the 1990 football season, then suffered related problems recently.
Felt said this decision is not unlike the one he made at the end of a seven-year professional career with the New York Titans and Boston Patriots.
"I just came to a point where I said, 'This is it, it's time to leave'," he said. "I just ran out of gas."
Felt played high school football at Lehi High, then earned all-conference honors at BYU. He returned to BYU when his pro career ended, in 1967, and has been there ever since, serving as defensive coordinator from 1982-90, during which time the Cougars had some of their best defensive units ever.
"With the exception of two years (when he was on an LDS mission), every year of my adult life I've been involved in football," Felt said. "Deep down I have some very strong feelings about it.
"We're one of maybe three teams in the nation that have had 20 consecutive winning seasons," he added. "That's something we all feel pretty strongly about."
Edwards said that Felt's presence on the staff will me missed.
"He's been with me ever since I've been a head coach," Edwards said. "He's been an integral part of the success we've had over the years. He's a great teacher."
Edwards said nothing has been done yet about finding a replacement for Felt.