Hall Of Famer Safety Ed Reed Agrees To Become Head Coach At Bethune-Cookman University

Super Bowl Champion and Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed has agreed to become Bethune-Cookman University’s head football coach.

ESPN reports Reed, who was inducted into the NFL Hall Of Fame in 2019, agreed to a deal Tuesday and is the latest former NFL player to coach an HBCU football program.

Bethune-Cookman is an HBCU school located in Daytona Beach, Florida, and plays in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). The school has yet to release specific details on its agreement with Reed.

The Wildcats went 2-9 in each of the last two seasons, which led to the firing of former Head Coach Terry Sims. Reed, 44, has spent the past three years at his alma mater, the University of Miami, as a senior football adviser under Head Coach Mario Cristobal. Reed also served as a defensive backs coach for the Buffalo Bills in 2016.

“We are excited to hear that Ed has been named the head football coach at Bethune-Cookman,” Miami athletic director Dan Radakovich said, according to ESPN. “Ed is one of the best to ever wear a Miami Hurricanes uniform and he has served as a great mentor to our student-athletes the past three years. He will do a tremendous job leading the Wildcats program and the entire Miami family wishes him all the best.”

Other former NFL stars who have put on a headset as a head coach for an HBCU school include former Jackson State University head coach Deion Sanders, who recently left to coach at the University of Colorado. Additionally, former running back Eddie George has been the head coach at Tennessee State University since 2021.

Reed sports an illustrious football résumé. He was a star safety at the University of Miami, winning a  national championship in 2001 as part of what many consider the greatest college football team in history. The safety was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of the 2002 NFL Draft and played 11 years with the team making nine Pro Bowls, winning the 2004 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, and winning Super Bowl XLVII with the Ravens in 2012. He also played with the Houston Texans and the New York Jets.