NBC aired an emotional tribute to John Beam during their Super Bowl coverage on Sunday night – three months after the legendary football coach was murdered on a school campus in Oakland.
Beam, who starred in Netflix series ‘Last Chance U’, died at the age of 66 back in November after being shot and killed by alleged culprit Cedric Irving Jr, 27.
The college football icon spent four-and-a-half decades as a coach before becoming athletic director at Laney College before his tragic death, which left a number of his former players devastated.
Before the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots battle it out for the Vince Lombardi Trophy on Sunday, NBC paid their respects to Beam by broadcasting a special tribute to the late coach.
Five-time Pro Bowl running back Marshawn Lynch – a longtime friend of Beam’s – presented the tribute before Super Bowl LX got underway in Santa Clara.
‘[Oakland is] a town built on grit, on pride. Oakland ain’t polished and we like it that way. So did coach John Beam,’ Lynch said.
NBC aired an emotional tribute to John Beam during their Super Bowl coverage Sunday night
Beam, the legendary football coach who starred in Netflix series ‘Last Chance U’, died at the age of 66 after being shot and killed on a college campus
NBC’s segment about the college football icon featured his daughters Monica and Sonjha
Two-time Super Bowl champion Marvel Smith, who was coached by Beam at Oakland Skyline High School, then added: ‘If you look at him, he looks like an outsider. But he is truly what Oakland was all about. The strength, the determination, the fight, the aggressive nature… that was truly in him.’
As well as recapping his illustrious career, and including heartfelt messages from the New Orleans Saints’ Rejzohn Wright and Chicago Bears’ Nahshon Wright, Beam’s grieving daughters, Monica and Sonjha, also feature in the tribute.
A tearful Monica said about her dad: ‘You always knew he loved you. He would celebrate your wins more than you would celebrate them. He was prouder of you than you ever were of yourself.’
‘He loved my daughters so, so, so much,’ Sonjha added as NBC played clips of Beam enjoying his role as a grandfather. ‘He wanted to coach them when they started playing sports.’
‘When someone like coach Beam leaves, they don’t just leave memories. They leave a legacy,’ Lynch concluded at the end of the segment.
‘Rest easy coach Beam,’ he added.
The tribute proved a tear-jerker for Super Bowl fans, with one writing on X: ‘The John Beam segment wrecked me’.
‘Damn, this John Beam piece has me cryin,’ said another.
NFL greats Marshawn Lynch (left) and Marvel Smith (right) also paid their respects to Beam
Beam was murdered on campus at Laney College in Oakland, California back in November
While a third put: ‘What a great segment on John Beam in this pre-game show. Perfect.’
Beam began his coaching career as an offensive line coach at Serra High School in San Diego, helping them reach the playoffs for the first time in school history.
After moving Oakland, he joined Skyline High School as a defensive coordinator in 1982, before being promoted to head coach five years later.
He enjoyed his most successful period at Skyline after winning 15 championships and overseeing four undefeated seasons.
Beam initially joined Laney College as a running backs coach in 2004 and 2005 and was later promoted to offensive coordinator. In that role, he led an explosive offense to three conference championships and five straight bowl game appearances.
In 2012 the esteemed figure stepped up to become head coach, before guiding the team to two league titles and four bowl games.
The Netflix docuseries focused on athletes at junior colleges striving to turn their lives around. Beam gambled on players nobody else wanted and developed deep relationships with them while fielding a team that regularly competed for titles.
