NFL Hall of Famer Ed Reed Hired as Bethune Cookman Head Coach

NFL Hall of Famer and former Miami Hurricane Ed Reed was named the 16th head coach in the history of the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats football program on Tuesday. This continues a trend of former NFL players taking head coaching roles at HBCU.

Reed was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2019 after a decorated 12-year NFL career. He spent 11 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens before splitting his final year between the Houston Texans and the New York Jets. Reed was a nine-time Pro Bowler and is the NFL leader in postseason interceptions (9).

After his NFL playing career, Reed went into coaching and administration as he spent one season with the Buffalo Bills as an assistant defensive backs coach in 2016. For the past two years, Reed has been the Chief of Staff for the Miami Hurricanes, where he played his college football. Reed helped Miami to the 2001 National Championship.

Reed is following in the footsteps of former NFL players like Deion Sanders, Eddie George, Greg Ellis, Sean Gilbert, and Tyrone Wheatley, that became head coaches at HBCU.

Bethune-Cookman went 2-9 in 2022 and has not had a winning season since 2019.