Ravens legend Ed Reed is the latest Hall of Fame player to become head coach at an historically black university.
Bethune-Cookman University announced Tuesday that it had reached an agreement in principle with Reed to become the school's 16th head coach.
The 44-year-old former Ravens safety spent three seasons at Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor at Miami (Fla.), where he starred as a college player before being drafted by the Ravens in 2002. He also spent one season coaching in the NFL as Assistant Defensive Backs Coach with the Bills in 2016.
During 11 seasons with the Ravens, Reed was a five-time All Pro and nine-time Pro Bowler who was NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2004. In his final season with Baltimore in 2012, Reed helped the Ravens win Super Bowl XLVII, and spent the following season with the Jets and Texans before retiring from the NFL.
One of the greatest defensive players in league history, Reed was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2019 and finished with 64 career interceptions and 343 tackles, displaying an uncanny knack football IQ for diagnosing plays and anticipating where quarterbacks would throw.
Reed will replace Terry Sims at Bethune-Cookman, who was fired after finishing with a 2-9 record overall this season, and 2-6 in the SWAC.
As a former NFL great, Reed will have an opportunity to bring buzz, success and revenue to a SWAC school while serving as a role model for student athletes who want to reach the next level. Hall of Fame defensive back Deion Sanders brought national attention and revenue to Jackson State as head coach for three seasons (2020-2022), before recently leaving to become head coach at Colorado. Former Titans running back Eddie George has been the head coach at Tennessee State since 2021.
Reed will be the second Hall of Fame coach to lead Bethune-Cookman, following in the footsteps of Larry Little, who was head coach at the Daytona Beach, Fla. School from 1983-91.
Reed was quickly received congratulations on social media for accepting his new position.
