When fall football is in the air, there’s a certain scent as the hot days of summer hunt down the beginning of autumn. This is the time when the late Ken Schmidt used to get wound up like the spring on a clock.
Schmidt, who coached 21 years at BYU, retiring in 2002 as defensive coordinator after a 45-year coaching career, passed away Monday, July 29. It is a fitting salute to Schmidt that he left this earth for a game in the beyond during the kickoff of drills for the game he loved so much because, well, it’s football time.
His time.
I remember these hot days of August during his time working for LaVell Edwards when two-a-days kicked off.
In the legendary fashion of LaVell’s way, he put great trust in his assistant coaches to deliver what the players needed on the field when drills began.
There, his two coordinators, Schmidt and Norm Chow, would work through their segment sheets. They were tuned in, focused and intense. They were demanding, dialed in on details and demanded a high bar for execution.
At times, it got a little heated when Chow objected when one of his guys got popped with a little more heat than the moment called for. Schmidt didn’t like it when one of his guys, be it a starter or a scout team player, was unfairly picked on and humiliated by deed or word.
Chow and Schmidt were competitive men. They hated to lose and gave all they had every day. When they weren’t coaching, they were jogging around Provo together getting in a workout. They could be seen cantering down the street like Clydesdales, sweat pouring down their foreheads.
Schmidt was part of BYU’s championship domination of the WAC and led the Cougars into the Mountain West Conference. He was part of one of the best BYU defenses in history, the 1996 crew that helped the Cougars go 14-1 and win the Cotton Bowl.
Fighting battles with tenacity is what Schmidt needed in his final year.
“Ken battled cancer with grit and in spite of being in real pain, he kept his optimistic outlook on life,” said his son-in-law Joe Evans, a former Orem High and BYU quarterback who married Ken’s daughter, Shauna.
“He was coaching to the end, his grandkids, his family, and me while fixing his sprinklers,” said Evans.
“I grew in my admiration for his disciplined endurance and his continued focus outside of himself and on his family. I have been moved by the outpouring of gratitude that has come from his former players,” he continued. “In the end, for Ken, it wasn’t about the many accolades, it was about the relationships. He was very genuine and will be missed greatly by those who knew and loved him.”
Schmidt’s dedication to coaching and the game of football stood out as a high school coach at Skyline High, building a powerhouse with five state championships. He was the head coach at Ricks College back when that junior college was a hotbed of talent in the region.
Smitty, as he was affectionately called by friends and peers in the business, was 82.
Schmidt was front and center during BYU’s 1984 national championship team, a squad that is celebrating its 40th anniversary this fall with reunions, parties, a soon-to-air TV production and a myriad of other media storytelling.
Schmidt will be remembered as a players’ coach, a guy who pushed and demanded the most of his players on and off the field. He also had a tender heart and was gracious and kind.
All I know is I’m a better man for having known him.
Rest in peace, coach.