Dec. 5, 2000

By BRADY BINGHAM
Standard-Examiner staff

PROVO, Utah - Brigham Young University officials took another step closer to announcing a replacement for head coach LaVell Edwards on Monday, asking Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Gary Crowton to meet with the school's search committee on Wednesday.

"(Crowton) is coming to town on Wednesday as part of the process of getting closer to naming our head coach," said BYU associate athletic director Duff Tittle.

According to Bears coach Dick Jauron, Crowton will fly to Utah after practice Wednesday.

"Hopefully, we are getting down to the final stretch," Tittle continued. "No question, BYU wants to get this done in a hurry, last week if possible, for obvious reasons.

"However, we wanted to get all the research done and make sure we haven't missed anyone. When you are naming your first head coach in 29 years, BYU will not move through this process at light speed."

Crowton seems to have been BYU's top candidate since August when Edwards announced he would retire.

Crowton appears to be a perfect fit for the job. He began his coaching career as a student assistant at BYU in 1982, serving under then-quarterbacks coach Mike Holmgren. He's been a head coach at the college level before, leading Louisiana Tech to a 21-13 record in three years. His passing offense was one of the most potent in the nation, piling up 542 yards a game in 1998.

Crowton, a Mormon who hails from Provo, is friends with BYU athletic director Val Hale. Hale and Crowton were both unavailable for comment on Monday.

"The only thing that we know is that I think we will have a conclusion to the story relatively soon. BYU clearly wants to get an answer," Jauron said. "They need to meet face-to-face, which indicates they're at a point where they want a decision.

"It also indicates that he's probably one of the top candidates, if not the top candidate, for the job."

Tittle admitted he was unaware of plans by the search committee to meet with any other candidates.

While the Bears (3-10) still have three games left, speculation that Crowton would leave for BYU has been rampant for weeks. Crowton, Jauron and the players are asked about it regularly. Jauron has even been asked who'd replace Crowton.

"Obviously, there is a level of distraction, because you can't ignore the issue. The issue exists," Jauron said. "But as I said last week, I think Gary and BYU have done a good job of keeping it to as minor a distraction as possible. But it does exist. There's no way I can't think about that to some degree. But I don't think that's been a factor."

An announcement from BYU and Crowton could come as early as Wednesday.