An Open Letter to all who love, hate, or are indifferent to BYU Football (aka: everyone)
Dear Everyone,
The ol’ wifey has been bugging me for 4 years to write a blog. Well, without further ado, here is blog post # 1. She wanted me to write about my daily workouts. I had been plotting one about current events and politics. Looks like it will include all of that, and now BYU too.
We’ll cut to the chase. I’ll start by thanking Derik Stevenson. Great catching up with you at Coach Schmidt’s linebacker reunion last month. Derik played with my bro, and was a fierce warrior. Like many others, I read your open letter last week, and it motivated me to action.
Derik – you are wrong.
DEAD WRONG
Upon reading your letter, I didn’t like your tone, your language, or most of your content. You did have a fewvalid points, but it sounded much more like the words of a fair-weather fan anxious to lead the next lynch mob after a slumping coach than those of a former player who should remember the old adage “Coaches coach and Players Play.”
Fire Bronco? Well, that’s the flavor of the month, isn’t it? (Funny, cuz just a month ago, all was well in Provo, we were headed to the playoffs, and “Fire Whittingham” was the flavor of the day. My how fast perceptions change when you allow yourself to be blown in the wind.)
Before I go any further, I want to clarify one point for everyone:
BRONCO IS NOT THE REASON WE LOST 4 IN A ROW!!!!
Now, is he without blemish? Of course not. He’s made his mistakes, as have all our coaches. They are, in fact, human. However, those of us who are privy to what the player’s assignments are on given plays have noticed this – THE PLAYERS HAVE MADE MORE!! (Especially the Defense, and my how saying that pains my inner core.) Those 4 losses are the player’s fault. Period. It is a simple and sad truth, however, that coaches get too much credit for wins and too much blame for losses. Phil Jackson is the greatest NBA coach right? He won the most, 11 rings!!! Well guess what, I don’t know a lick about coaching basketball, but if you gave me Michael Jordan, Shaq at his most dominant, and Kobe…. I’m pretty sure I could give you at least a handful of rings too.
In a future post, I might further address this silly concept of players in the game either executing or not executing their assignments being the principal cause of victory. But for now, we will head back to fantasy land and PRETEND that the head coach is the key reason a team wins or loses.
So let’s look at Bronco vs. LaVell. Because Bronco sucks and should be fired, right? And we need to find the next LaVell ASAP so we can get back to laying “waste to any fools that dare step onto the field of battle against [us].”
(Disclaimer: comparing Bronco to LaVell is actually foolish, because the era’s of college football, opponents, and circumstances are SOOO different, it really doesn’t reveal anything. BUT, we are in fantasy land, so we don’t care about any of that.)
Now, Derik broke down many of the stats regarding Bronco’s performance, which is what I’m about to do (correctly, though.) He conveniently excluded the first 5 years (better years), saying those players weren’t Bronco’s recruits (We will never know, but I would wager if those first 5 years were chuck full of losses we would have seen them in his breakdown.) At any rate, omitting those years, in and of itself, is a contradiction to our central ‘fantasy-land’ premise. See, if the coach is the chief reason a team wins or loses, and it’s Bronco’s fault we are sliding now, why does it matter which players are on the field? Or how they got there and who recruited them? None of that matters, just who is the coach and does he win.
So, back to Bronco vs. LaVell. Bronco has had 9.75 years to demonstrate his worth, so we will measure those against the first 10 of LaVell.
Overall wins and losses:
- LaVell 86–33-1 (72% win)
- Bronco 87–38 (70% win)
(What was LaVell over his career you ask? 257-101-3, which is…wait for it…72% win.)
Conference wins and losses:
Bronco was in a conference for his first 6 years, so we compare those to LaVell’s first 6.
- LaVell 30-11-1 (73% win)
- Bronco 39-9 (81% win)
(Because I know you are curious, LaVell went 55-14-1 for 79% over 10 years, and 175-42-2 for 80% over his career. Guess what Derik, LaVell won a lower percentage of his games against non-conference teams, just…like…Bronco.)
Conference titles:
- LaVell 3 in his first 6 years (2 of them ties)
- Bronco 2 in his first 6
(LaVell had 7 in 10 years and a total of 20 in 29 years, 7 of them ties.)
How about 10-win seasons?
- LaVell 3 in 10 years for 30%
- Bronco 5 in 10 years for 50%
(LaVell had 10 in 29 years, for 34%.)
Bowl Appearances:
- LaVell 6 out of 10 years
- Bronco 10 out of 10
(If we don’t beat at least Savannah State, you can have my house and my cars, because I’m moving under a rock.)
(Note: this comparison is unfair to LaVell; the college bowl landscape is different and much more widespread today. But, none of that matters in fantasy land!!)
Bowl wins and losses:
- LaVell 2-4 (33%)
- Bronco 6-3 (67%)
(LaVell was 7-14-1 overall, which is 34%.)
Top 25 finishes:
- LaVell 4 in 10 years for 40%
- Bronco 5 in 10 years for 50%
(Overall, LaVell had 12 in 29 years, which is 41%. Man, is there a pattern here?!?)
Okay. If you passed 5th grade, you’ve noticed something by now. LaVell was eerily similar over 29 years to his first 10….AND…so far Bronco has been eerily similar to LaVell. LaVell edges Bronco in overall winning percentage and conference titles. Bronco beats him in conference wins, 10-win seasons, Bowl appearances, Bowl wins, and top 25 finishes. The highest LaVell finished in his first 10 years was ranked #11. Bronco, #12. In those first 10, LaVell had a 5-6 year, a 6-6 year, and a 7-4 year. Bronco’s had a 6-6 year, a 7-6 year, and this ugly year. Soooo….what does all of this mean?!?!
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING
They are different coaches in different eras with different circumstances. At the end of the day, Bronco has been ridiculously similar to LaVell. LaVell went on to be ridiculously similar in his next 19 years. I expect Bronco to do the same, for as long as he is here. Everybody can see this year (month) we are struggling. Injuries (one guy in particular, and I will come back to that), blown assignments, idiot play, missed tackles, inopportune turnovers, bad bounces etc, etc, etc, AND coaching errors, are the culprit. Now, if you think all of this merits Bronco being fired…well then, I’m super glad you don’t determine my employment.
Coaches coach and Players play. Players catch, block and tackle, not coaches. Players jump off sides. Players push the opponent after the whistle. Players bite on double move after double move. Obviously, good or bad coaching is a factor to all of this. But the end result is the guy on the field in the heat of battle determines performance. Now, I believe quarterbacks get too much credit for wins and too much blame for losses, just like coaches. And it drives me nuts. Win as a team, lose as a team. That being said, if you were to weight which one person contributes more to the winning or losing effort than anybody else…. it would be the quarterback, and it’s not even close. Much MUCH more than the coach.
Our defense has flat out sucked, but I would argue vehemently that if Taysom never breaks his leg we aren’t sitting here at 5-4. I’m not guaranteeing we would be 9-0 either, but we don’t lose all 4 of those games. Straight up, Taysom Hill is a difference-maker, on and off the field. He is truly one of those rare players that can put a team on his back and will victory. Not having him out there has killed us, and it’s flattened our spirits.
And this brings me to my final - and most important - point.
BYU has had good football teams because we have had good quarterbacks. A LOT of good quarterbacks. In fact, you could make a case that BYU has had more than anybody else. We boast 7 Sammy Baugh trophy winners, most in the country (given to “the nation’s top college passer.”) The next closest school only has 4.
The last few years our signal caller hasn’t quite been what it used to be. Taysom was on the verge of changing that. Some joker on Cougarboard with call name Jam Master J criticized Bronco for “…trying to play Riley Nelson for two years when he can’t complete a forward pass.” As a senior, Riley only played 10 games and went:
181/308 attempts, for 2011 yards with 13 TDs against 13 picks
Pedestrian numbers, but he had true grit, was a CHARISMATIC leader, and got us valuable wins. Key to remember, we didn’t have many options.
Not surprisingly, LaVell’s first conference title came with strong passing and our first Sammy Baugh winner – Gary Sheide in 1974, LaVell’s 3rd season. What were his numbers you say?
181/300 attempts, for 2174 yards, with 23 TDs against 19 picks
Did I mention today is a different era in football?!
I grew up going to every home game and those great Holiday Bowls in San Diego. I loved interacting with LaVell as a kid, as 2 of my brothers played for him. As a freshmen in ‘02, I was coached by Crowton (who I like), and sadly sat front row as the wheels came off my beloved program. I had 4 months of spring training and practice under newly arrived Bronco as the D coordinator, right before leaving on a mission. I got back just after Bronco was made head coach, and took part in his first 3 seasons. I KNOW Cougar football. And now, I just spent a few days looking over BYU football for the last 40 years. Here is the BOTTOM LINE: BYU wins 8 or 9 games, mixed in with a very occasional 7 or 6-win year…UNLESS…we have a pro quarterback. Then we have a 10-win season. Our first 3 pro quarterbacks (Carter, Sheide, and Nielson) were fantastic, and got our factory started. Since then, EVERY SINGLE pro quarterback we have had led us to at least one 10-win season. This applies to Crowton, who had 12 wins in 2001 behind the arm of Brandon Doman. The lone exception is good ol Riley Nelson, who did something no other BYU quarterback ever did (despite apparently not being able to complete a forward pass.) Riley was the ONLYnon-pro to lead BYU to a 10-win season. (10 wins is 10 wins, every coach in the country would take that, and they don’t care who is on the schedule.)
(Note: I used the word ‘pro’ and not NFL only because of Steve Sarkisian. Despite leading the entire nation in passing efficiency in ’96, and finishing his career 3rd all time in that category, the NFL ignored him and he played in Canada for 3 years. It still boggles my mind.)
Lets Recap what we’ve learned:
- LaVell = Great
- Bronco = Great
- WE DON’T NEED TO FIRE BRONCO
- Players (not coaches) win games (especially quarterbacks)
- BYU WINS 8 OR 9….UNLESS WE HAVE A PRO QUARTERBACK….THEN HE LEADS US TO 10 OR MORE
My fellow Cougar fans: I love BYU football, just like you. I have high hopes and great expectations, just like you. But let us look at our storied history for what it is…. and not pretend it is what it isn’t. Even in the “Glory Years” we didn’t win 10 games every season. We did it about 1 out of 3. And even then, those great years only came when we had a professional signal caller under center.
Let’s give Bronco and the other coaches some slack, continue to cheer on our boys in Blue, and never waiver our support amidst this current storm or any other that certainly will come with the ever-changing tempests of life.
Loyal, Strong and TRUE
GO COUGARS
-Bryan Kehl
ps Be sure to check out the 43-Year and 10-Win Season graphics.
There is more to follow. I have noticed other trends too…
pps On the radio the other day I said "people calling for Bronco's head are nothing short of fools." By saying that, I wasn't trying to be a name-calling grade-schooler. I chose that word for exactly what it means: "Fool 1. a person who acts unwisely or imprudently; a silly person." And I stand by that.