Ed Reed, NFL Hall of Famer, to coach Bethune-Cookman football team

Pro Football Hall of Famer Ed Reed has agreed in principle to become the head football coach at Bethune-Cookman, the school announced Tuesday. 

Reed does not have a long coaching résumé but spent one season in the NFL as an assistant defensive backs coach and has been on staff at Miami, his alma mater, for the past three seasons as the chief of staff. 

Being hired at Bethune-Cookman continues the recent trend of Historically Black Colleges hiring well-known former NFL players that started with Deion Sanders at Jackson State and continued with Tennessee State hiring Eddie George in 2021. 

Reed actually comes into the job with more experience in college football than Sanders had when he took over at Jackson State, having worked with both Manny Diaz and Mario Cristobal in an undefined role that encompassed quality control and player development. Reed, 44, had made it known while at Miami that he wanted to become a full-time coach. 

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Bethune-Cookman, located in Daytona Beach, Florida, had been the MEAC’s dominant program from 2010-2015 with two Black College Football national titles but has fallen on hard times recently. Bethune-Cookman did not play in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, moved to the SWAC for 2021 and dismissed coach Terry Sims in November after his second consecutive 2-9 season.