Come to think of it, what's ol' LaVell been up to?

Turns out, quite a bit.

Not that you'd know it. The 75-year-old Edwards enjoys an increasingly rare personality trait: He is OK with not being in the spotlight or living in the past.

"He's comfortable with himself," said Elaine Michaelis, the former BYU volleyball coach, and one of the few people who had been at the school longer than Edwards. ". . . It's not about the wins and losses, but the people involved. He had a lot of patience, and he needed it. He was a father figure to those players. I have nothing but respect for him."

Since calling it quits after a 34-27 victory at Utah on Nov. 24, 2000, Edwards has been on a journey of self-discovery of sorts and spends time with family and friends.

Even now, Edwards, who comes from a generation that avoids self-aggrandizement, quickly brushes past any hint of problem with his own health. He recently had a melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, removed from his heel.

"I'm doing fine. It just took a little while to heal," he said. "It slowed down my golf game a little."

It comes as little surprise to those who know Edwards that he's had little trouble adjusting to retirement.

"Our relationship is great," said Tom Holmoe, one of Edwards' former players and current athletic director at BYU. "We're friends. Since I've moved back here, our families are now friends. We talk a lot, and not about football.

"It's good not to have to talk about football."

Perceived from the outside as an unemotional piece of granite, Edwards' impassive visage paced the BYU sidelines for 29 years. Between 1972 and 2000, he won nearly 72 percent of his games, 257 in all, and 21 conference championships.

BYU reached 22 bowl games, 17 in a row, including a Holiday Bowl victory over Michigan in 1984 that brought the school a national championship.

Edwards, a two-time national coach of the year, also created a program that not only spawned more than 30 All-Americans and two Outland Trophy winners, BYU also became a quarterback factory, producing the likes of Gifford Nielsen, Marc Wilson, Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Robbie Bosco and Ty Detmer.

McMahon, Young and Detmer won Davey O'Brien awards, while Detmer was also awarded the Heisman Trophy.

"Awesome," Utah football coach Kyle Whittingham said of Edwards. "I couldn't have played for a better coach or person. He is a solid individual across the board. He was even-keeled and kept everything in perspective."

With retirement, Edwards and his wife Patti chose to further explore their religion, as well as travel. In 2003, the Edwardses, who have been married for more than five decades, served an LDS Church mission to New York City as public affairs missionaries for the northeastern United States and eastern Canada.

"It strengthened it," Edwards said about his faith. "When you are out there and see what people are doing, the impact on people's lives, it gives you a greater appreciation of what people go through."

Between his retirement, mission and working on his flower garden, Edwards spoke at charity events and helped raise money for new facilities at BYU.

"I was a lot busier than I thought I'd be [after retiring]," he said.

Edwards' lack of ego also prevents him from regular appearances at the stadium that bears his name. This was especially true in former coach Gary Crowton's final seasons, all with losing records.

Edwards also said rumors that Crowton didn't want him involved with the program were just that, rumors.

"In the first place, except for the first year, I was gone," he said. "I went to all the games the first year. Then I was on my mission for two years."

The last couple of seasons "made it tough to go," Edwards said. "I hated people wanting to know what I thought. It was a lot easier when they were having success. They're making good progress now."

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall ''is doing a nice job."

Edwards was demure when asked if would give a locker room speech prior to Saturday's BYU-Utah rivalry game in Provo.

"LaVell is not a guy that gives a stirring pep talk before a game," Holmoe said. "His strength was preparation."

And, to the last, consistency.

martyr@sltrib.com