Raised near Massillon, Ohio, Edwards was the son of an immigrant from Wales who worked in the area's coal mines.

While at Wittenberg, he was named the country's college football coach of the year twice, and his teams posted an overall record of 98–20–4.

[2] The son of a Welsh coal miner, Edwards dropped out of school when he was 14 to help his family by working in the mines of East Greenville, near Massillon.

[3] Edwards enrolled at Ohio State University where he captained the Buckeyes freshman football team and was roommates with Paul Brown, his former Massillon teammate.

In the last game of a season in which Wesleyan had a perfect record and beat football powerhouses Michigan and Syracuse, Edwards kicked an extra point as time expired and gave Wittenberg a 7–6 victory.

"Dugan" Miller as his chief assistant, and the Western Reserve Red Cats went undefeated in his first two seasons as coach.

[4][8] In his last season, Western Reserve reached the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas against Arizona State and won the game 26–13 on New Year's Day in 1941.

[8][9] Having built a strong record at Western Reserve, Edwards was in the running for head coaching roles at a number of larger universities and professional teams.

[9] After visiting with Lions owner Fred Mandel, Edwards ultimately was hired in February 1941 to succeed George Clark.

[4] While in the military, he served at St. Mary's Pre-Flight, a training program in California, and coached the Air Devils football team there.

[4][18] Edwards was hired as athletic director and head football coach at Wittenberg, his alma mater, in 1955.

[2] Under Edwards, the Wittenberg Tigers were a major success, amassing a 98–20–4 record in 14 seasons and winning the NCAA College Division national championship poll in 1962 and 1964.

[2] He was called "a combination of Genghis Khan and Santa Claus" by Sports Illustrated for being both tough and sympathetic to his players.

[2] Edwards resigned from coaching in 1969, when he was 63 years old, although he continued to work at Wittenberg as the school's athletic director.

[2] Edwards was given a commendation by President Richard Nixon for his achievements as a coach and won a Football Writers Association of America award for contributions to the game.

[2] The tough but compassionate approach to coaching Edwards espoused influenced many men who worked under him, including Maurer, who led Wittenberg to a 129–23–3 record between 1969 and 1983.

[26] Edwards was also close with Steve Belichick, who played for him at Western Reserve and for the Detroit Lions and later served as an assistant under him at Vanderbilt and North Carolina.

[29] At what is now known as Case Western Reserve University, the football stadium, DiSanto Field, hosts its distinguished guests inside the Coach Bill Edwards President's Suite.