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BYU football coach Bronco Mendenhall will be replacing at least one of his assistant coaches at the end of the 2014 season.
Jay Omer, who has been the Cougar football team's strength and conditioning coach the past 14 years announced Thursday that he is retiring after the Miami Beach Bowl on Dec. 22. Omer has been at strength coach for 43 years, including 30 in college athletics at six different schools.
He has previously worked at Georgia Tech, Washington State, East Carolina, Tulane and Auburn.
"I have so many thoughts and special memories of everywhere I have been and everyone I have worked with," Omer said in a school news release. "I've been very, very lucky. BYU is a special place and I feel fortunate to have been able to come back and finish my career at this university."
Mendenhall said Omer will be missed.
"Weight training and conditioning is an integral part of a football program, and I want to express my gratitude to Jay for his dedicated service to our players over the years," Mendenhall said. "We still have some work ahead of us this season, but I'm happy for Jay and Vicki and wish them every happiness as they soon begin the next chapter in their lives."
Omer graduated from nearby Orem High and played football for Snow College. He graduated from Southern Utah University and coached in Idaho before becoming the head football coach at Union High in Roosevelt, Utah, from 1976-84.