|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
Correcting Cougars Offseason coaching shuffle renews hope at BYU
Posted: Tuesday April 25, 2000 02:38 PM
By Michael C. Lewis, Special to CNNSI.com PROVO, Utah -- The BYU Cougars lost three straight games to finish a season for the first time in coach LaVell Edwards' legendary career last year. They also lost their three-year starting quarterback, their best defensive players, and the offensive coordinator who had been directing their trademark high-flying offense since their 1984 national championship season. And, speaking of losing, the Cougars will open next season against defending national champion Florida State in the Pigskin Classic. So why was everybody so darned happy at spring practice? "There's a new sense of excitement for everybody," quarterback Charlie Peterson said. "There's a kind of a sense of renewal, a chance for everybody to start over and prove what they can do on the field. It's exciting. ... Hopefully, players might be a little more relaxed." Peterson seemed to speak for just about everybody during spring drills back in March, and that eagerness to get back on the field after last year's disaster has a lot more to do with the departure of offensive coordinator Norm Chow than any of the other Cougar losses. Rumors of firings and re-assignments among the coaching staff were rampant after the Cougars completed their season by losing to Wyoming, Utah and finally Marshall in the Motor City Bowl. The losses cost the Cougars sole possession of the inaugural Mountain West championship, one that seemed so certain after their 8-1 start, and grew to humiliating proportions when they managed only three points in one of college football's most minor bowl games.
Chow endured much of the blame for the freefall, just as he had endured criticism for years from Cougars fans blaming him for everything from choosing the wrong quarterback to calling the wrong play. Never mind the 20 bowl games in 22 years. When it appeared, however, that the criticisms this time had the weight of the school administration behind them -- after the bowl game, athletic director Val Hale vaguely promised changes in the program -- Chow took a job as offensive coordinator on Chuck Amato's new staff at N.C. State. Talk about your win-win situation. Chow more than doubled his salary, to $165,000, on the highest-paid staff in the nation, and left behind many players who were quietly eager to see him go because of his long-held reputation -- deserved or not -- for playing favorites. Edwards replaced Chow by promoting longtime running backs coach Lance Reynolds, a much more soft-spoken man who seemed to have the confidence of the players. It helped that his first act as the new head of the offense was to open all positions and declare that every player was starting from scratch. Hope sprang, then, just as they say it does. Reynolds is "very, very good with player personnel," Peterson said. "He understands players and understands their moods and he treats everybody the same. That's not taken lightly around here." Understand, of course, that Peterson has a vested interest in praising the coach. He is one of three players fighting to succeed departed quarterback Kevin Feterik, who was All-Mountain West last season despite nearly getting beaten to smithereens behind his questionable offensive line. Sophomore Bret Engemann and junior Brandon Doman are the others, though Engemann is widely viewed as the most likely starter next season. "Except for the quarterbacks, we're a veteran team," wide receiver Margin Hooks said. That might not be entirely accurate. The receiving corps certainly will be a mature one, with all three leading pass-catchers from last year returning. Hooks caught 60 passes for 1,067 yards and seven touchdowns in '99, while Ben Horton and Jonathan Pittman combined for 72 receptions, 950 yards and six scores. Elsewhere, though, the picture might not be so rosy. The Cougars are not sure whether running back Luke Staley, the MWC Freshman of the Year last season, will be able to return from off-season shoulder and knee surgery, and fellow sophomore Naufahu Tahi might still decide to leave on a two-year mission for the LDS Church that runs BYU. The offensive line needs revamping and improvement after nearly getting Feterik killed, then revolting against position coach Roger French by refusing to attend his meeting the night before the Motor City Bowl. In fact, French was the other coach to be re-assigned after the season. He was placed in charge of only the interior linemen; Edwards hired former BYU lineman Mike Empey to coach the tackles and tight ends. The Cougs also lost middle linebacker Rob Morris (a first-round pick in the NFL Draft), as well as defensive end Byron Frisch and cornerbacks Brian Gray and Heshimu Robertson. Linebacker Josh Lowe might be lost to a back injury. Think any of that dissuades the coaches? "We have a chance to be a good football team," Edwards insisted. "It was a good spring. I feel very good about what we've done." He's not the only one. Engemann came out of the spring drills brimming with confidence that the Cougars can do well, in spite of a non-conference schedule that also includes Syracuse, Virginia and Mississippi State. "We can beat Florida State," he said. And this coming from a man who hasn't even been sacked yet. Michael C. Lewis covers Mountain West footballl for the Salt Lake City Tribune.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
