Legendary Oakland Tech football coach Delton Edwards dies at 58

OAKLAND — Former Oakland Tech football coach Delton Edwards, whose players included running back Marshawn Lynch and quarterback Josh Johnson, who like Lynch played in the NFL, died early Thursday morning at Kaiser Hospital in Oakland.

The legendary coach, who would have been 59 next month. was hospitalized this week with pneumonia. Lynch called the hospital Thursday morning from Africa, according to Edwards’ wife Yolanda.

Edwards was the head coach at Oakland Tech from 1997-2011, succeeding current Campolindo coach Kevin Macy.

“He was a phenomenal man, a great mentor and leader,” said Virdell Larkins Jr., Edwards’ nephew and the current coach at Oakland Tech. “He impacted people who never played for him. We’re going to miss him.”

Tributes for Edwards came from throughout the Bay Area.

“I’m still recovering from this one,” said San Jose State running backs coach Alonzo Carter. “This one hurts.”

Carter was the head coach at McClymonds when Edwards was at Oakland Tech.

“We shared so much together,” Carter said. “Who does that with a rival, when you’re coaching opposing teams?

“He was a wonderful man, always teaching, always trying to get kids to college. I can’t put into words how selfless that man was.”

John Beam, the coach at Laney College, was another Oakland Athletic League rival at Skyline.

“He played in this league, he played at Merritt College,” Beam said of Edwards. “You think about all the differences he made in people’s lives. He did a good job mentoring young coaches. This is going to be a loss.”

Edwards graduated from Oakland High and went to Merritt College. He was a heavily recruited linebacker at Merritt and wound up going to college at Illinois. But he left for personal reasons.

Edwards is survived by his wife Yolanda, two sons, two daughters, two step-daughters and 10 grandchildren.