With Dave Edwards and his youngest son Bronson feeling the urge always to have a clean house, the Edwards family home is normally organized and in good condition.
But for the living room, the entire family knows the day it’s at its peak: Sunday.
“I'd say it's up there between that [day] and Christmas,” oldest son Brady Edwards said.
Why?
It’s the day the entire Edwards family — Dave, Kelli and their three kids Brady, 24; Braxton, 21; and Bronson, 18 — all watch football. But NFL Sundays are not the only time the family tunes in to watch the action on the gridiron.
For the last 38 years Dave has been an assistant football coach at Delta High School, and for the last 25 years, his wife Kelli, who also works for the school, has always been there watching from the stands. On top of this, Dave’s coached all three of his sons and currently coaches with two of them while one plays for the Delta Eagles.
Dave’s final season as a football coach has become a full-circle moment.
“Football’s been my life,” Dave said.
‘I want to do that for other kids’
Growing up in a single-parent household, Dave’s family did not have much. His mom, Nancy, worked multiple jobs to keep the lights on. Due to the fact she also dealt with some health problems, things were sometimes tight in their trailer park home in Delaware County.
But there was one thing Dave always had: football.
“The only thing that kept me out of trouble was her threats to take football away from me if I screwed up,” he said.
After a family friend helped pay for Dave to play at the metro level, he fell in love with the game. Since he had never spoken a word to his dad, he bonded with his coaches, who became that male role model he needed at a young age.
“[Coaches] weren't the only male role models, but they were some of the best males that I had as a kid,” Dave said. “And then I thought, man, I want to do that for other kids. So that's why I really wanted to coach.”
After suiting up for the Eagles and then going on to play for Ball State, Dave was approached in his junior year of college by Delta after suffering an injury. Delta head coach Chuck DeNeal wanted him to join his coaching staff. At first, the school administration ruled he was too young to be the freshman coach, but one year later, he was hired to assist with the varsity team.
Dave has stayed as a defensive assistant since he started as a full time assistant coach in 1987. The entirety of the current Delta coaching staff has been coached by Dave except for two.
Since the time he and Kelli were married, she has been at one place on Friday nights: a football field. She still remembers one of the first games she attended and not knowing much about the sport at the time.
“I asked [the other wives] if the flags they were throwing were color-coded,” Kelli said. “Like if Delta had blue and gold ones or if there were different colors for different teams, and they just looked at me and said ‘Oh, no.’ They looked at me like I was so dumb” she said.
Aside from working in the Delta High School front office, she also helps with the football boosters and makes sure behind-the-scenes activities are complete. Kelli also has her own fantasy league that includes other football wives and moms. Over the years, it has become very competitive.
“I was gonna remind the girls to set their lineups one time, just to be nice,” she said. “And [a fellow player] was like, ‘You don't do that. They've been in this league and they know what they're doing.’”
When their oldest son Brady was born, it did not take long for football to become integrated into his life. Home videos show the Edwards’ firstborn with a helmet on before he could walk.
“[Dave] would flip on the Delta film to scout,” Brady said. “I would kind of watch with him, and I would put on a helmet and run around the living room trying to copy what I saw.”
With Dave’s one rule for his sons being that they had to play some type of sport before they were 12 years old, the trend continued with Braxton and Bronson as the love passed to them. Now, Dave and Brady root for the Dallas Cowboys while Braxton supports the Green Bay Packers. Bronson also went in a different direction as he is an Indianapolis Colts fan.
When those teams play each other, Kelli roots for whatever family member is outnumbered.
“People say ‘We’ll pray for you,’” she said. “That's what they tell us … All of our friends know that this is going to be a bad Sunday.”
The difference in teams has brought some tense moments in the household. Brady still remembers the Cowboys’ “Dez [Bryant] caught it” game against the Packers during the 2014-15 season. While Braxton was thrilled, his father and older brother had to walk it off.
“We were at our old house,” Braxton said. “Brady went outside behind our pole barn and had his hands over his head for like an hour, not talking to me. It was bad.”
‘I tell him I love him’
While he’s coached many players in his tenure with the Eagles, Dave believes coaching his sons is something that never gets old. However, he understands the pressure that may come with being the “coach’s kid.” While he’s heard some comments about that, Dave expected one thing from all three of his sons: to earn a spot.
“They had to prove themselves to be able to play — even more so than other kids before,” Dave said. “I want to see them on the field because I don't want anybody ever to think, ‘Oh, they're playing because their dad's a coach … If they can't stand on their own to play and be accountable for what they do and how they do it, then I don't want them out there.”
Brady and Braxton overlapped two years at Delta. While the memories of being on the same team are something they will never forget, there are a few the two brothers cherish, even if they weren’t always so pleasant. One of those came when Brady injured his foot.
While Braxton claims he “pancaked” his older brother, Brady remembers it in a way where he just took an awkward step. Dave remembers it differently.
“I think they both embellish this thing because I think Brady was trying to play defense, and he was trying to prove to me that he could play defense and he could tackle, even though he couldn't use one hand very well [due to having mild cerebral palsy],” Dave said. “I think he hurt his foot playing defense and didn't admit it because I kept telling him, ‘I don't want you playing defense. You're going to get hurt, and we need you on offense.’”
To him, each one of his sons brings a different talent to the sport. Brady was the smartest and used unique angles while Braxton’s drive and strength were important. For Bronson — who is the Eagles’ current starting quarterback — he is just different from both of his siblings.
“I knew from the time he was two years old that he was an athlete,” Dave said. “He's different, and he's very athletic. My other boys were as normal boys are. They played with cars and trucks and action figures, but all [Bronson] wanted to do was play ball.”
While Bronson still wears the Delta jersey every Friday night, Brady and Braxton are now on the sidelines with Dave. The brothers both started as middle school coaches and have worked their way up over the last few years.
To the three, being able to experience this moment with Dave is a blessing.
“It's kind of been building towards this for a while,” Brady said. “We kind of knew this year was coming, and we're just trying to take it day by day, practice by practice and game by game because this will never happen again. This is a one-time thing.”
Brady also works with his dad at Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance. While Dave was always okay with his sons going in another direction, Brady was fine with going down the same path and poked fun at the idea.
“He's like, ‘Dad, I'm gonna end up being you,’” Dave said. “I asked, ‘What do you mean?’ He goes, ‘I'm gonna be a Farm Bureau agent and a Delta football coach.’ And I go, ‘Is that terrible?’ And he's like, ‘No, it's not terrible. I'm gonna be the new version of you.’”
Just like when they played, the Edwards’ coaching styles also vary. While they have their differences, there is one thing that the three of them have in common: Dave’s love.
Before each game, he finds each son and hugs them.
“With Bronson, I talk to him before every game,” Dave said. “I tell him I love him. I say play hard, be a leader and then I almost don't say another word to him for the entire game.”
Each time the moment happens, Bronson takes it in.
“It is something I will hopefully never forget,” he said. “Playing varsity football only happens for a couple years. You only get to have those types of moments however many games you play.”
To Dave, he wants to be the father he never had. He wants his three sons to remember he is always there — good or bad. Football has always been an avenue for that.
“I never heard my father say, ‘I love you,’ but I'll tell my kids I love them multiple times every day,” Dave said. “I don't care how old they are. I'll tell them just about every time I hang up the phone with them because they're going to make sure they know that I love them, and they're going to make sure they know I care about them.
“I want to be involved with them too so when they have their own kids, that's an example of what they could be.”
‘38 years is a long time’
Throughout their entire marriage, Dave and Kelli have never done anything on fall break. It’s always been Delta Eagle football.
Their best friends were made from working at the concession stands during athletic events. To them, there’s been no reason to go anywhere else.
“I always say it takes a village to raise a kid, and our village is so supportive,” Kelli said. “We have so many special men and women, especially dads, that if my kids needed anything at all at any time, I know they could name off 20 men right now that would come and help.”
While Dave knows this is the last go around before retirement, the fact he’s doing it with his sons around him brings him comfort with that decision. However, he knows it will be hard to step away and expects to drop by a practice or two in the future.
“If [my sons] are coaching on Friday night, it'll be hard to not go to the game, to at least stand on the sideline or show up at a practice or two. But it's time for me to step away. We got a lot of good young coaches that are ready.”
To the rest of the family, Dave’s love for football has helped them become the close-knit group they are today.
“Naturally, whenever everybody gets around to do something, it builds a better connection,” Braxton said. “When I look back on it, it has helped our relationships because it's just a common ground for all of us.”
As his coaching career comes to a close, Dave can’t help but look at the journey. Countless number of games, practices and plays line the home stretch. But as he gets to the finish line, he knows it’s been a path that was well worth it.
“It's funny because life hits you so fast,” he said. “From ‘Hey, we're having a baby,’ to ‘Hey, we're having another baby,’ to ‘Hey, we're having a third.’ And you have three boys, and you're just trying to do everything, but you still want to coach. But you still want to be active with them. You have no idea what's going to happen. I had no idea that the two oldest ones would be on staff with me [for my last season] … I'm proud of my boys.”
Whether or not his sons continue to coach or decide to give up the clipboards and headsets, they will never leave the game that has done so much for them.
“My placemat at my front door says ‘Faith, Family and Football,’ which is a mantra that our entire family lives by,” Brady said.
Contact Zach Carter via zachary.carter@bsu.edu or on X at @ZachCarter85
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