Miami Chief of Staff Ed Reed hired as Bethune-Cookman head coach
Bethune-Cookman has hired Miami chief of staff and Hurricanes’ Sports Hall of Famer Ed Reed as head coach per multiple sources. Reed was on the Miami football staff in the three years under head coaches Manny Diaz and Mario Cristobal. Reed becomes the latest former NFL All-Pro hired at an HBCU.
Eddie George just finished his second season as the head coach at Tennessee State. Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders was hired at Colorado earlier this month after three seasons at Jackson State. Ed Reed has limited experience as an assistant coach before serving as the Miami chief of staff.
Reed was the Buffalo Bills assistant defensive backs coach in 2016 under Rex Ryan who was the defensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens where Reed starred for most of his NFL career. Reed got a first-hand look at Bethune-Cookman when Miami defeated the Wildcats 70-13 in the 2022 season opener.
Bethune-Cookman finished the 2022 season 2-9 with wins over Grambling and Mississippi Valley State. The Wildcats have had back-to-back 2-9 seasons since switching from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference to the Southwestern Athletic Conference ahead of the 2021 season.
Miami AD Dan Radakovich on Ed Reed: "Ed is one of the best to ever wear a Miami Hurricanes uniform & he has served as a great mentor to our student-athletes the past three years. He will do a tremendous job leading the Wildcats .. the entire Miami family wishes him all the best.”
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) December 28, 2022
The responsibilities for Reed with the Miami football program were to oversee strategic planning, quality control, player evaluation and player development when he was hired by Diaz. In the first season with Reed on the staff, the Miami football team went 8-3 in 2021. Miami was 12-12 in the last two seasons.
Reed won a national championship at Miami and Super Bowl with the Ravens in addition to being inducted into the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame. Reed was a two-time consensus All-American and five-time All-Pro. Bethune-Cookman has not had a winning season since 2019 when they went 7-4.
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The Wildcats last won a conference title in 2015 which was their last of four in a row and five championships in six years in the MEAC. Terry Sims led Bethune-Cookman to the last of those titles in a 9-2 season. That would be Sims’ best season. Bethune-Cookman fired Sims after the 2022 season after a 38-39 record in seven seasons.