OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) — John Beam devoted 45 years of his life to coaching rising Oakland football players at Laney College and Skyline High School. On and off the field, he served as a mentor and motivator for thousands of young athletes.
Beam was shot on Laney College’s campus near the football field Thursday before he passed away in a hospital Friday, police said. He was 66 years old.
Following his sudden death, the coach is being mourned and remembered as a pillar of the Oakland community who lifted up local youth.
During an Oakland Police Department news conference Friday, Piedmont Police Chief Frederick Shavies talked about the impact Beam had on him personally, long before Shavies began his law enforcement career.
John Beam (Photo courtesy Laney College)
Shavies said Beam was his mentor and friend. “I met coach when I was in the eighth grade. John was so much more than a coach. Since I was 15, 16, 17 years old, coach has always been there for me … has always reached out.”
Chief Shavies said he was just one of countless youth who saw Beam as a father figure. This week Oakland lost “an absolutely incredible human being,” he said.
Beam told KRON4 during a 2020 interview that he kept in contact with athletes even after they moved beyond high school and college. “Longtime friends and ex-players who have come back and told me, thank you for taking the time to mentor me, and have my back,” Beam said.
Beam coached more than 20 players who went on to compete in the NFL, including Nahshon Wright of the Chicago Bears, Rejzohn Wright of the New Orleans Saints, former Los Angeles Rams player and Super Bowl champion C.J. Anderson and Marvel Smith, a two-time Super Bowl champion offensive lineman.
Rejzohn Wright #25 of the New Orleans Saints warms up on September 7, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Ella Hall/Getty Images)
Nahshon Wright #26 of the Chicago Bears listens to the national anthem on October 13, 2025 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
C.J. Anderson #35 of the Los Angeles Rams runs the ball during Super Bowl LIII on February 3, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Beam gained national attention after the Laney College Eagles were selected to be featured in the Netflix series “Last Chance U.” Now the coach is being remembered for giving the youth of Oakland their chance.
Oakland’s mayor said, “Coach Beam’s legacy isn’t measured in championships or statistics. It’s measured in the thousands of young people he believed in, mentored, and refused to abandon, including my nephew, while at Skyline High school. He gave Oakland’s youth their best chance, and he never stopped fighting for them.”
The Las Vegas Raiders NFL team issued a statement on X honoring Beam. “His decades of service will forever be woven into the fabric of football in the East Bay. The prayers of the entire Raider Nation are with John’s family.”
Photo: Peralta Community College District
Flowers and candles were left by students at the entrance of Laney College where Beam most recently served as the athletic director. A Laney freshman told KRON4 that the coach was a “really cool and influential guy. Had a big impact on the students.”
Chief Shavies told reporters, “It is tragic that we lost him, especially in the way that we lost him. Keep Skyline and Laney in your prayers.”
The Laney College shooting happened less than 24 hours after a 15-year-old student at Skyline High School was shot on campus before classes were let out for the day. Police said the student is recovering in a hospital.
Two juvenile suspects armed with ghost guns were arrested for the Skyline High School shooting. A 27-year-old man, Cedric Irving Jr., was arrested in San Leandro for the Coach Beam homicide.
Oakland Interim Police Chief James Beere said, “What’s scary is, we have 15 year old kids bringing guns to school. You have a coach who is on campus … and someone is able to come on campus with a gun. We have a lot of work still do to, not just as a police department, but as an entire community.”
Police have not released motives behind either shooting this week.
Mayor Barbara Lee said, “Gun violence has stolen the life of a man who dedicated himself to building up the young people of this city. We cannot accept this. We cannot let guns continue flooding our streets and destroying the very people trying to save our community. Coach Beam spent four decades lifting up Oakland.”
Amy Larson
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