LaVell Edwards won 257 games in 29 seasons as head coach at BYU, which ranks seventh on college football’s all-time coaching list. (Andy Lyons / Getty Images)
Former BYU Head Coach Lavell Edwards has more than 50 coaches carrying on his legacy around college football and the NFL—23 of those played for him during his 29 years of coaching at BYU. Below is a list of those who coached or played for him over the years and what they have done since they left BYU. This will be one of many articles in the next two months before the Cougars kick off the 2024 season. This 2024 season marks 100 years of BYU football.
Coaching Tree
Robert Anae
- BYU Football OL 1981-84
- GA 90-91
- Hawaii 1986-1987 GA
- BYU 1990-1991 GA, 2005-2010 OC, 2013-2015 OC
- Ricks College 1992-1995 OL
- Boise State 1996 OL
- UNLV 1997-1998 OL/ Run Game Coordinator
- Texas Tech 2000-2004 OL
- Arizona 2011-2012 OL/ Run Game Coordinator
- Virginia 2016-2021 OC
- Syracuse 2022 OC
- NC State 2023-present OC
Claude Bassett
- BYU LB coach from 1985 to 1993
- Kentucky HC ? -2000
Brian Billick
- BYU tight end 1974-77
- Grad. Assistant 1978
- San Diego State 1981-1985 WR/TE coach
- Utah State 1986-1988 OC
- Stanford 1989-1991 TE coach
- Vikings 1993-1998 HC
- Ravens 1999-2007 OC
Robbie Bosco
- BYU Football QB 1981-85
- QB coach from 1990 to 2003
- BYU 1990 to 2003 QB
Scott Brumfield
- BYU OL 1990-92
- Utah Tech 2010-2014 HC
Ben Cahoon
- BYU WR 1995-97
- BYU WR coach 2011-12, 16-17
- BYU 2011 to 2012, 2016 to 2017 WR
Mike Canales
- BYU Football GA 1985-86
- Snow College 1987 to 1994 QB
- Pacific 1995 QB
- USF 1996 to 2000, 2007 to 2009 QB
- NC State 2001 to 2002, 2022 QB
- Jets 2003 WR
- Arizona 2004 to 2006 QB
- North Texas 2010 to 2015 Interm HC
- Tennessee 2010 to 2015 QB
- Utah State 2016 Assistant HC, RB/TE
- UTEP 2017 to 2019 OC
- Maryland 2021 Defensive Quality Control Coach
- Bethune Cookman 2022 OC/ QB
- Southeastern 2023 to present OC
Norm Chow
- BYU assistant 1973-1999
- BYU 1973-1975 GA, 1976-1981 WR, 1982-1989 OC/QB, 1990-1999 Assistant HC/QB/OC
- NC State 2000 OC/QB
- USC 2001-2004 OC/QB
- Titans 2005-2007 OC
- UCLA 2008-2010 OC/QB
- Utah 2011 OC/TE
- Hawaii 2012-present HC
Jim Criner
- BYU assistant 1972
- Iowa State 1983 to 1986 HC
Ty Detmer
- BYU Football QB 1987-91
- BYU 2016-2017 OC
Brandon Doman
- BYU QB 1998-01
- QB coach 05-10
- OC 11-13
- BYU 2005 to 2010 QB coach
- BYU 2011 to 2013 OC
Matt Edwards
- Grandson of LaVell Edwards, Southern Virginia University 2016-2017
- BYU 2013-2014 GA
- Southern Virginia 2015 OL, 2016 WR
- Virginia 2017 Football Analyst, Director of Analytics
- Titans 2018-2021 ST, Defensive Assistant
- Raiders 2022-2023 Defensive Assistant
- Bills 2024 DL coach
Mike Empey
- BYU Football OL 1987; 91-93
- GA 94-96
- OT/TE 00-04
- BYU 1994 to 1996, 2000 to 2004, 2016 to 2017
- Snow HC
- UNLV TE
- West Texas A&M LB
Justin Ena
- BYU LB 1997-2001
- SUU 2008-2013 DC, STC
- Weber State 2014 DC/LB
- Utah 2015-2018 STC, LB
- Utah State 2019-2020 DC/LB
- Eastern Washington 2021 Spring LB
- Utah Tech 2021 Fall DC/Safeties
- San Diego State 2022 DL coach
- BYU 2023-present LB
Wally English
- BYU OC & QB Coach 1978
- Kentucky
- Arkansas
- Virginia Tech
- BYU 1978 OC/QB
- Pittsburgh
- Tulane 1983 to 1984 HC
- Nebraska
- Hawaii
- Saints
- Lions 1974 to 1975, 1977 RB
- Dolphins 1981 to 1982 QB/WR
Dick Felt
- BYU HB 1954-55
- BYU assistant 1967-1998
- BYU 1967-1998 Assistant
Roger French
- BYU assistant 1980 to 2000
- BYU OL 1980, OC 1981 to 2000
Nate Gibbs
- BYU OL 1991-94
- GA 1995-97
- Minnesota Duluth OC 2000 to 2003, HC 2004 to 2006
Scott Giles
- BYU LB 1990-91
- GA 1993-94
- East Arizona DC 1995-1998, HC 1998-2002
Jernaro Gilford
- BYU DB 1999-03
- CB coach 2016 to present
- Whittier GA, CB, ST 2012 to 2013
- SUU Secondary Coach 2014 to 2015
- BYU CB 2016 to present
Garth Hall
- BYU RB coach, WR coach 1975-82
- BYU RB, WR 1975-82
- Tulane OC 1983-1988
- Idaho State HC 1988-1991
J.D. Helm
- BYU assistant 1969-74
- BYU assistant 1969 to 1974
- Chiefs Scout 1975, Offensive coach 1982 to 1988
Mike Holmgren
- BYU quarterbacks coach 1982-85
- BYU QB 1982-1985
- 49ers OC/QB 1986-1991
- Packers HC 1992-1998
- Seahawks HC 1999-2008
- Browns President 2010-2012
Tom Holmoe
- BYU DB 1978-82
- GA 1990-91
- BYU GA 1990 to 1991
- Stanford Secondary coach 1992 to1994
- 49ers DB 1994 to 1996
- California DC/HC 1997 to 2001
Doug Jolley
- BYU TE 1997-01
- Stanford GA 2015-2016
Steve Kaufusi
- BYU DL 1985-97
- DL/LB coach 2002-2017
- Utah GA 1994
- Utah DL 1995-1996, DE 1997-2001
- BYU DL 2002-2016, LB 2017
(Mark A. Philbrick/BYU Photo)
Dave Kragthorpe
- BYU OC & OL coach 1970-1979
- BYU OC/OL 1970-1979
- Idaho State HC 1980-1984
- Oregon State HC 1985-1990
- 25 years in the NFL
Barry Lamb
- BYU assistant 1994-2009
- Oregon LB 1977-1980
- Arizona State Secondary Coach 1980-1981
- UNLV LB/ST 1981-1986
- Idaho DL/LB 1986-1989
- San Diego State DL/LB 1989-1993
- BYU assistant 1994-2009
- Tulane Assistant HC/LB/ST 2012-2013
Ed Lamb
- BYU LB 1995-96
- Redlands DC/DL 1997-2000
- BYU GA 2001
- Idaho DC 2002-2003
- San Diego DB/ST 2005-2007
- SUU HC 2008-2015
- BYU Assistant HC/ST/LB/Safeties 2018-2022
- Northern Colorado HC 2023-present
Mike Leach
- BYU alum, heavily influenced by Coach Edwards
- Cal Poly OL 1987
- College of Desert LB 1988
- Pori, Finland HC 1989
- Iowa Wesleyan OC/OL 189-1991
- Valdosta State OC/OL 1992-1993, OC/WR/QB 1994-1996
- Kentucky OC/QB 1997-1998
- Oklahoma OC/QB 1999
- Texas Tech HC/OC/QB 2000-2009
- Washington State HC/OC/QB 2012-2019
- Mississippi State HC 2020-2022
Reno Mahe
- BYU WR 1998, 01-02
- RB coach 2016-2017
- BYU RB 2016-2017
Brian Mitchell
- BYU DB 1987-90
- DB coach 94-05
- BYU DB 1995-2005
- Texas Tech CB 2006-2009
- East Carolina DC/Secondary 2010-2012
- West Virginia CB 2013-2015
- Virginia Tech CB 2016-2019
- NC State CB 2020-present
Larry Moore
- BYU OG, 1995-96
- Bridgewater TE 2006
- Incarnate Word TE 2011-2015
Hal Mumme
- Coach Edwards had a major influence on his offensive strategy
- West Texas A&M QB/WR 1980-1981
- UTEP OC 1982-1985
- Iowa Wesleyan HC 1989-1991
- Valdosta State HC 1992-1996
- Kentucky HC 1997-2000
- Southeastern Louisiana HC 2003-2004
- New Mexico State HC 2005-2008
- McMurray HC 2009-2012
- SMU OC 2013
- Belhaven HC 2014-present
Mel Olson
- BYU C 1964-66, 69
- assistant 1972-89
- BYU assistant 1972-1989
Dwain Painter
- BYU QB&WR coach 1974-75
- BYU QB/WR 1974-1975
- Steelers WR 1989-1991
- Colts WR 1992-1993
- Chargers QB 1994-1996
- Broncos WR 1998-1999
Jim Paronto
- BYU LB 1983-84
- BYU LB 1983-1984
Chris Pella
- BYU recruiting coordinator 1986-03
- Utah State HC 1983-1985
- BYU recruiting coordinator 1986-2003
Tom Ramage
- BYU DL coach, Sp. Tms 1973-2001
- Utah State GA 1963-1964
- Weber State Assistant HC 1965-1967
- Dixie HC 1968-1972
Andy Reid
- BYU OL 1978-80
- Grad. Assistant 1982
- BYU GA 1982
- San Francisco State OC/OL 1983-1985
- NAU OL 1986-188
- Missouri OL 1989-1991
- UTEP OL 1992-1993
- Packers TE/OL 1992-1996
- Eagles HC 1999-2012
- Chiefs HC 2013-present
Lance Reynolds
- BYU OL 1973-77
- assistant 79-80, 83-2012
- BYU GA 1979-1980
- Snow OC/RB 1981
- Ricks OC 1982
- BYU RB 1985-1999, OC/RB 2000, OL 2001-2003, RB 2004-2010, TE 2011-2012
Aaron Roderick
- BYU WR 1996-98
- GA 99-01
- BYU GA 1999-2001
- Snow RB 2002
- SUU OC/QB 2003-2004
- Utah WR 2005-2013, QB 2014-2016
- BYU OC/ passing game coordinator 2018-present
Steve Sarkisian
- BYU QB 1995-86
- El Camino College QB 2000
- USC QB 2001-2003, QB 2005-2006, OC/QB 2007-2008, HC 2014-2015
- Raiders QB 2004
- Washington HC 2009-2013
- Alabama interim OC 2016, OC/QB 2019-2020
- Falcons OC 2017-2018
- Texas HC 2021-present
Ken Schmidt
- BYU DC, LB coach, 1982-2002
- Ricks 1980-19811
- BYU DC/LB 1982-2002
Doug Scoville
- BYU OC & QB coach 1976-77, 1979-80
- 49ers ST/RB 1970-1975
- BYU OC/QB 1976-1977, 1979-1980
- Bears QB/WR 1978
- Eagles QB 1986-1989
Mike Sheppard
- BYU GA 1977-78
- BYU GA 1977-1978
- Long Beach State WR 1984-1986
- New Mexico WR 1987-1991
- California WR 1992
- Browns TE/WR 1993-1995
- Ravens WR 1996
- Chargers OC 1997-1998
- Seahawks QB 1999-2000
- Bills OC 2001
- Saints QB/OC 2001-2005
- Bengals WR 2007-2010
- Jaguars QB 2011
Dennis Simmons
- BYU LB 1992-96
- GA 1997-98
- BYU GA 1997-1998
- Cornell RB 1999
- Texas Tech Support Staff 2000-2007, WR 2008-2009
- ECU WR 2010-2011
- Washington State WR 2012-2014
- Oklahoma WR 2015-2021
- USC WR 2022-present
Kalani Sitake
- BYU RB 1994, 1997-2000
- Eastern Arizona DB/ST 2001
- BYU GA 2002
- SUU RB/TE 2003, OC/TE 2004
- Utah LB 2005-2008, DC/LB 2009-2014
- Oregon State DC 2015
- BYU HC 2016-present
Charlie Stubbs
- BYU Alum
- GA 1983-84
- BYU GA 1983-1984
- Oregon State 1985-1990
- UT Martin 1994
- Memphis 1995
- UNLV 1996-1997
- Alabama QB 1998-2000
- Tulsa 2001-2006
- Louisiana OC 2007
- Central Missouri 2008-2009
- Nicholls HC 2010-present
Ted Tollner
- BYU QB coach 1981
- BYU QB 1981
- USC HC 1983-1986
- San Diego State HC 1984-2001
- 49ers QB 2002-2003, OC 2004, Assistant Coach 2007-2008
- Lions OC 2005
- Raiders Passing Game Coordinator 2009-2010
Garrett Tujague
- BYU OL 1989-91
- Chabot Assistant Coach 1993-1995
- Redlands Assistant Coach 1996-1997
- Canyons OL 1998-2006, HC 2007-2012
- BYU OL 2013-2015
- Virginia OL 2016-2022
DeWayne Walker
- BYU CB coach 1994
- Mt San Antonio Community College DB 1988-1991, DC 1992
- Utah State Assistant Coach 1993
- BYU CB 1994
- Oklahoma State DC 1995
- 49ers 1996
- Patriots 1997, DB 1998-2000
- USC DB 2001
- Giants 2002-2003
- Commanders DB 2004-2005
- UCLA DC 2006-2008
- New Mexico State HC 2009-2012
- Jaguars DB 2013-2016
- Browns 2017-2019
- Arizona DB 2021-present
Dewey Warren
- BYU QB/WR coach 1972-73
- BYU QB/WR coach 1972-73
Teag Whiting
- BYU OL 1999-2001
- SUU GA 2009, OL 2010, TE, Assistant Coach 2011-present
Fred Whittingham
- BYU DC 1978-81, LB coach 73-77
- BYU DC 1978-1981, LB 1973-1977
- Utah Personal Director 2012-2015, 2016-present TE
Kyle Whittingham
- BYU LB 1978-81
- GA 1985-86
- BYU GA 1985-1986
- Eastern Utah DC 1987
- Idaho State LB/ST 1988-1991, DC 1992-1993
- Utah DL 1994, DC/Safeties 1995-2000, DC/LB 2001-2004, HC 2005-present
Gary Zauner
- BYU ST coordinator 1979-80
- BYU ST 1979-1980
- San Diego State ST 1981-1985
- Long Beach State ST 1990-1991
