Of all the lives Ed Reed touched, those in Natchez might remember him the most.

As the only coach to win a football state championship in school history, Reed led South Natchez High School to much more than titles in 1980 and 1981.

Reed died early Sunday morning in Biloxi at the age of 89. His former players and coaches remember him for his love of the city.

“He was what South Natchez football was all about,” Steve Buckley said. “There are not many days that the thought of him doesn’t come to my mind.”

Buckley, the current head football coach at Jones County Junior College, said Reed’s methods in coaching showed just how much he loved the game.

“I try to emulate a lot of the stuff he did because it worked,” he said. “The two things he stressed were accountability and toughness. It was an instant success.”

Reed coached across the state, including at West Point, Rolling Fork, Lumberton, Provine and Picayune. He had two stints as the head football coach for South Natchez — the first from 1969-1973.

In 1971, he took the Colonels to the Shrimp Bowl — winning the game against the Louisiana opponent Archbishop Rummel, 12-7.

Reed then stepped down from coaching to take the head principal position from 1974-1979. He began coaching South Natchez again in the fall of 1979.

The first football title in school history came in 1980 when the Colonels won the overall Big 8 Conference Championship over Moss Point, 21-7.

With the help of assistant coach Mike Tatum, Natchez made history.

“To be a part of that staff, you couldn’t think of anything better,” Tatum said. “In terms of such a great coach, the title means a whole lot to him because he will live on. He is a legend.”

Reed was able to win, Tatum said, because of his loyalty to the school.

“He knew every kid on the team,” he said. “He had such a good connection to the community. He pulled so many families together, and it really was about the community and not about him.

“He didn’t ever have to say anything. When he walked into a room, everyone knew him. Some of the kids considered him to be their father because he believed in them, and they believed in him, too.”

Mississippi adopted its current playoff system in 1981, making South Natchez also the first to win an MHSAA Class AA state title. The Colonels completed a perfect 14-0 season with a 21-6 victory over Starkville.

As a former player, Joey Porter succeeded Reed as head coach at South Natchez following his retirement in 1982.

“I wanted to coach, but nobody wanted to follow in his footsteps,” Porter said. “I thought I could, but I didn’t do so well. He was just so successful, and it was hard to match his perfection. He just fit in so well here.”

When Reed retired from coaching in Mississippi, former player and family friend Burt Smith said many had realized his success.

“There were schools all over the country trying for him to be their coach,” he said. “That was just the calling that he had.”

Reed landed in Tuscaloosa, Ala., where he coached for another 10 years at Central-Tuscaloosa High School. He led the Falcons to six area championships and an appearance in the state championship game in 1991.

Central lost to Robert E. Lee High School of Montgomery, Ala., in the title game, 14-7.

Though Reed warmed the hearts of many in Mississippi, current Central High football coach Dennis Conner said those in Alabama still remember his presence.

“He was highly skilled and organized, and he loved his players,” Conner said. “He brought a lot to the table and because of the some of the ways he was doing things, we knew he was going to be a good one.”

Conner, who was a senior in Reed’s first year in Tuscaloosa, said he is happy to be back at his alma mater, where he has now been coaching in the head position for nine years.

“He gave me my first coaching job,” Conner said. “Now I’ve been in the school system for 30 years.”

To round out his list of accomplishments, Reed was inducted into the Mississippi Coaches Hall of Fame in 1983. He also has an endowed scholarship in his name at Delta State University, available for any athlete.

Reed will be buried in Natchez on Thursday. Funeral services are scheduled for 11 a.m. at Greenlawn Memorial Park Cemetery under the direction of Laird Funeral Home. Visitation will be from 9 a.m. until service time Thursday at the funeral home.

Smith, who also coached for Reed, said Natchez is exactly where his dear friend belongs.

“Everybody in Natchez knows who Ed Reed is. The lives that he affected, especially in Natchez, were just so many,” he said. “We will miss him. The world didn’t lose just a good coach, they lost a good man.”