KANSAS CITY, Mo. — LaVell Edwards, the longtime coach at Brigham Young University and mentor to Chiefs coach Andy Reid, passed away Thursday at the age of 86.
Jan. 3, 2016; Kansas City, MO; Chiefs coach Andy Reid during the season finale against the Oakland Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium. (Emily DeShazer/The Topeka Capital-Journal)
“I have more respect for (Edwards) than anybody,” Reid told KSL.com in 2012. “When you ask me about my favorite people, he’s right there at the top.”
Edwards compiled a record of 257-101-3 at BYU from 1972 until his retirement in 2000. He won a national championship with BYU in 1984, and coached Ty Detmer to the Heisman Trophy in 1990.
Reid played for Edwards during the 1979-81 seasons as an offensive lineman. Edwards first suggested to Reid that he enter the coaching ranks, and hired him for his first coaching job as a graduate assistant in 1982.
Edwards told the Deseret News in 2013 that Reid spoke with him on a weekly basis.
“He’s one of those guys who spends too much time at work,” Edwards told the newspaper. “He goes in at 4 a.m. and gets home at 10. Maybe he just likes to have a change, ’cause we don’t talk much about football.”
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Matt Derrick is the lead beat writer for ChiefsDigest.com and the Topeka Capital-Journal. Use the contact page to reach him or find him on Twitter: @MattDerrick.
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