Ed Reed will not be the coach at Bethune-Cookman after all.
The Hall of Famer said Saturday that he was unable to come to a contract agreement with the FCS school to be its next football coach. The HBCU announced Dec. 27 that it had reached an agreement in principle with Reed to be the team’s head coach.
“Bethune-Cookman University has been working with my legal team to craft contract terms with the language and resources we knew were needed to build a successful football program,” Reed said in a statement.
“It’s my desire to not only coach football, but to be an agent of change that most people just talk about being. However, after weeks of negotiations I’ve been informed that the university won’t be ratifying my contract and won’t make good on the agreement we had in principle, which had provisions and resources best needed to support the student athletes.”
Reed had publicly shown frustration with his new employer since he was announced as the team’s head coach. On Sunday, Reed went live on Instagram and complained about the conditions at the school and in his office. According to Vibe, he even publicly debated not taking the job in another Instagram Live because of what he was seeing at the school.
Monday, Reed issued a statement to HBCU Gameday apologizing for what he had said over the weekend.
“I would like to sincerely apologize to all BCU staff, students and alumni for my lack of professionalism,” Reed said in his apology statement. “My language and tone were unacceptable as a father, coach and leader. My passion for our culture, betterment and bringing our foundation up got the best of me and I fell victim while engaging with antagonists on social media as well. I am fully aware of the hard working folks at our school who are also fighting to make things better and more financially sound.”
Reed, 44, had been serving as the chief of staff at Miami before accepting the BCU job.
A Florida native, Reed played at Miami from 1998-2001 and immediately went on to be an All-Pro safety for the Baltimore Ravens. He spent 11 of his 12 years in the NFL with the Ravens and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2019.
His departure from Bethune-Cookman leaves the team without a coach just weeks before spring practices. Bethune-Cookman was 2-9 in 2022.
