By Terrance Turner
Jan. 21, 2023
Former NFL great Ed Reed will not be coaching at Bethune-Cookman University.
Reed announced the news on social media today, saying that he and his lawyers had been negotiating with the school over his head coaching contract. “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,” Reed said today.
Background
Ed Reed played safety in the NFL for over a decade. He spent 11 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, winning a Super Bowl with them in 2013. He holds the record for the longest interception returns in the National Football League (106 yards in 2004, 107 yards in 2008). He’s considered one of the NFL’s best safeties.
According to ESPN, Bethune-Cookman is a historically Black college located in Daytona Beach, Florida. It won six Mid- Eastern Atlantic Conference Championships since 2000 but struggled after joining the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) in 2021. (Bethune-Cookman fired head coach Terry Sims in November after going 2-9 in back-to-back seasons.)
On Dec. 27, Reed and Bethune “entered an agreement in principle” for him to become head coach of the football team. But that deal fell apart after Reed posted a series of profane rants criticizing the university on social media.
Reed Rants
On the morning of Jan. 16, Reed went live on Instagram while driving his golf cart around campus. He had a lot to say. ”All our HBCUs need help because of the people who’s running them,” he said while driving to work in his first video post. “Broken mentalities out here. … I’ve been here a week and a half and have done more than people who’ve been here for freaking years. And I’m not even hired yet. Damn shame.”
Reed’s comments made waves on social media. Many users pushed back against his criticism of the school. But that was nothing compared to what he posted next. In his next video, Reed blasted school conditions while on his golf cart.
“I’m out here walking with the football team picking up trash! But I’m ‘muttin” us. Man, get out of here. I should leave,” he said. “I’m not even under contract yet. These motherf–kers didn’t even clean my goddamn office when I got here.” Pointing toward an area, he said “all this s–t here was trash in front of me. Who you think got this s–t cleared out? That building right there got trash in it; it’s f–king trash.”
It’s worth noting that the Florida school was hit by two hurricanes last fall. The football team didn’t play at home for approximately a month due to the storms.
Reed later apologized for his comments. But that apology was clearly too little, too late.
This story will be updated.
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