Comparing Coach Mendenhall to Coach Edwards, is a very good measuring stick; as Coach Edwards was and is one of the best coaches to coach at any institution. He ran the type of program that the university, the General Authorities, and fans wanted to see. So, it is a fair comparison to use him as a measuring stick. That being said, you have to be honest with yourselves, and also recognize that since going Independent, BYU has played a much more difficult schedule that the majority that Coach Edwards ever faced. Not putting Coach Edwards down, but how often have we ever faced the likes of Pac 12, Big 12, SEC, and other big conferences; nearly every single game in September? Even the Mountain West Schools that they are playing, have improved and were not cake walk. Last season, had the worst injury bug in that I can remember, not hit; BYU was poised for a double digit win season and possible top 15 finish. (top 25 nearly still happened, and would have if they would have beat Memphis in the overtime loss) There have been mistakes, but that happened during Edwards and Crowton, eras too.
As for the clean program, it is expected by every single coach in the country, but few are held to nearly the same standard, that a BYU coach is held to. The honor code, which is debatably outdated and needs to be changed; is not a standard that most coaches or players will choose to abide by. To think that just because a kid is an Eagle Scout or RM, that they are not going to have issues with the honor code, is very naive. You are talking about young, single men, and I have plenty of RM friends that are now either inactive or screwed up after returning home and got their girlfriend pregnant. Being a RM does help prepare these kids for playing at BYU, but what about the 20% that do not serve, and what about those that choose to play before serving? Good kids make mistakes, good kids have to repent, and good kids can become great men after repenting for these mistakes and being guided along by men and women prepared to help them grow. Coach Mendenhall has more success stories with athletes changing their lives or returning after making major mistakes, than I could even begin to recount all of them. We all know the public stories like Kyle Van Noy, Spencer Hadley, Manase Tonga, and even Zach Stout; but there have been many more stories of players becoming great men due to Coach Mendenhall, that will never have articles written up on them. There were quite a few players involved in Crowton era scandals, that returned under Coach Mendenhall, and openly say that they owe much of who they are, to Coach Mendenhall's strict adherence to the team rules, and not allowing them to accept failure as an option. He helps them see who they are capable of becoming, and will do everything to help them, both during and after their days at BYU are done. Coach Edwards had this same quality, in that he loved these players for more than who they were on the field, and felt that a big part of his job was to prepare them for life after football. As much as we want these players and the team to be treated as a professional team, this is a University Football team. He is meant to be more than just a football coach, and if you don't see that, maybe it is worth looking into a different team to follow. Gary Crowton, by all accounts that I have heard, is a great man and person. Unfortunately, Coach Crowton recruited kids for football, more than he recruited kids to represent the university in the manner that the Church is asked him to. He did not hold these kids accountable to the honor code or team rules, and they took advantage of it to the point that there were so many scandals and issues. Regardless of who the coach is at BYU, there will always be kids that make mistakes, because they are young men; but as a fan of BYU, I want a coach that helps them see just how important obedience is, and that when they do make mistakes, he will be the first one to hold them accountable but will be the same one lifting them up to walk again on the right path.