Replacing any head coach is difficult, but taking the place of a coach who has just had a stadium named after him and is acknowledged as one of the greatest college football coaches of all time is a daunting task indeed.
Gary Crowton, current offensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League, believes he can do so. So, obviously, do the administrators at Brigham Young University who have picked Crowton to replace LaVell Edwards.
"I have always dreamed of coaching at BYU," Crowton said at Wednesday's news conference to formally announce his hiring. "To be able to follow in the footsteps of a legend like LaVell Edwards is both incredibly humbling and challenging. I pledge to BYU fans that I will devote my energy to continuing BYU's winning football tradition."
Crowton seems like a nice fit to begin the post-Edwards Era. His calling card is offense and he will be expected to provide not only winning football but exciting football.
He already has proven he can do that. When he took over as offensive coordinator at Louisiana Tech in 1995, the Bulldogs improved their scoring average from 15 points to 29 points a game and finished 14th in the country in total offense. He was named head coach in 1996 and in three seasons compiled a 21-13 record including 9-2 in 1997, the same year that Louisiana Tech recorded its first-ever win over a Southeastern Conference school — Alabama — since 1968.
Crowton's love for offense came from watching the Cougars under Edwards while Crowton was a student at Orem High School. He was quarterback for Orem at the same time current Cougar Athletic Director Val Hale was a receiver.
But it was while watching BYU quarterbacks, starting with Gary Sheide in 1973, that he became enthralled with the passing game. He not only patterned much of his offense after BYU's, he patterned his coaching style after the highly regarded Edwards.
So, the new head coach has an offensive philosophy similar to Edwards' and a similar coaching style. If his success is also similar, BYU will have indeed found the perfect replacement for a legend.