unctoothman,

I go back to school year 1953-54.

A big SOS year, back in the LE era was if we played 1-2 major P5 (TYPE) teams in a single season.
The rest of the teams were WAC teams and a big game would be vs teams like Rice or Toledo, or Tulsa.
The Miracle Bowl saw SMU. The NC game saw Michigan.

One thing that I admired about LE was that he was a gentleman. He never lectured or put down other coaches.
He was very tolerant for individual differences, and he had very little need for forgiveness as he did not judge
people to be bad, as he looked for the good in people instead. Jim MacMann, helped to make Lavell Edwards my hero. (Tolerance)

I followed him, LE, and the cougars to most, if not all, of his big powerful P5 (type) team games. I remember all the praise that
he got from the University of Alabama, and from ND, and from GA TEC and from Miss and from Va. and from every team that we played that was from the major leagues of college football. I never heard a coach or a team say anything about Lavell Edwards that was
not positive. Everybody loved and admired him. He is indeed our Hall of Fame Coach. He earned it.

The first 4-5 years of Bronco’s HC duties was successful largely, not in-spite of, but because of, the recruiting of Gary Crowton.
After the first 4-5 years of the BM era, the downward trend, came as a result of all of the recruits from the Gary Crowton era, being gone, and no longer playing at BYU.

Now having said all the good about the LE era and the GC era, and the BM era, since 2013, I have witnessed that the SOS now, under BM and our AD TH, is much more difficult than at any other time.

I don’t think that our HC now, has the respect of other coaches Nationally that LE or GC had.
I think that he, BM, started out on the wrong foot, putting himself as the teacher, of all of those other veteran coaches, and that attitude, did not go over well and was seen instead as arrogance.

I think that now, our HC and our AD is on the brink of making it, or losing it. They are gambling, that they can make it and I support that decision. In my mind, they must take the chance and they must be successful if we are to be significant as a college football team.

With the stronger SOS since 2013, we are preparing ourselves to be significant in the college football world with the stronger SOS. If they achieve their current goals, they may reach the success level of being the greatest of all time at BYU if indeed, they can get us full membership into a respected P5 conference. (My vote would be the Pac 8/10/12/14).

If they can’t achieve that goal, they will never come close to the achievements of LE with his Steve Young, Robbie Bosco, Jim Mac Mann, Ty Detmer, NC, MB, Heisman Trophy eras, et. al.

During the LE era, we had pride, respect, and we felt significant. Now, much of that is missing. Instead we are disappointed in the perceived arrogance that has no place in college football.

On the positive side, I have witnessed much growth on the part of our HC, and I commend him for that. Most of my disappointment in him, was during his first years when he set himself up as the supreme leader of all coaches in the Nation that needed to be taught responsibility from him. I have not seen much of this in the past couple years and I comment him for this improvement.