Bethune-Cookman and Miami have agreed to hire former NFL star safety Ed Reed as their next head coach, the school announced Tuesday. The 44-year-old Reed previously served as Miami’s “chief of staff” and senior football advisor, and from 1997 he was a player until 2001. Reed’s only other coaching experience was in 2016 when he coached the Buffaloes as an assistant to the Bills defensively he coached the Bucks.
A native of St. Rose, Louisiana, he was a Hurricanes-decorated player, earning Consensus All-American honors in 2000 and 2001, and the Big East’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2001. . BCS Championship victory over Nebraska in the Rose Bowl. Coral his 21 interceptions in his four years at Gables still stands as a program record.
“Ed is one of the best players to ever wear a Miami Hurricanes uniform and has served as an outstanding mentor to student-athletes over the past three years,” said Miami Athletic Director Dan Radakovich. According to Associated Press“He will do a great job leading the Wildcats…the whole Miami family wishes him all the best.”
A super college career was only comparable to Reed’s professional career. He was selected 24th overall by the Ravens in his 2022 NFL Draft and spent his 11th season in Baltimore. There he was his five-time All-Pro, and in 2004 he won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award. Before his retirement, he played in Super Bowl XLVII before spending the next season with the New York Jets and Houston Texans. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2018 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2019.
Reed replaces Terry Sims, who was fired after seven seasons in November, and takes over a program that went 2-9 overall and 2-6 in SWAC competition. Sims said that in his seven seasons with Bethune he was 38-39 and had his 2-9 record in each of the past two seasons. His best season was his first campaign as the Wildcats finished his 25th place in his FCS rankings with his 9 wins and 2 losses.