Pro Football Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed. Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Hall of Famer Ed Reed won't coach at Bethune-Cookman after all

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated 1/23/23

It was announced — in principle — in late December that Pro Football Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed would become the next coach at Bethune-Cookman, a historically Black university in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Less than a month later and after some apparently tense negotiations that included a profanity-laced tweet from Reed about his office not being cleaned, the two sides have announced that they will not be able to come to an agreement to ratify Reed's contract.

"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's Tweeted statement read. "I was committed to coaching and cultivating a relationship with the University, Players, Community and the fans. It's extremely disappointing this won't be happening.

With great sadness… pic.twitter.com/bhcusZIsW9
— Ed Reed (@TwentyER) January 21, 2023

Bethune-Cookman released a statement of its own via the football program's website, saying that Wildcats were no longer going to move forward in negotiations with the former Baltimore Ravens superstar.

"While we appreciate the initial interest in our football program displayed by Mr. Reed during the course of recent weeks, we are also mindful of the qualities and attributes that must be exhibited by our institutional personnel during what have been uniquely challenging times for our campus as we recover from the impact of two hurricanes during this past fall semester," the release said.

That's somewhat of a shot at Reed because he apparently didn't have the "qualities and attributes" of an institutional leader, at least according to Bethune-Cookman, but one has to wonder if this is a shortsighted move by the university.

If anything, Deion Sanders proved at Jackson State that having a former NFL star with a big personality can be a big boost reputation-wise, which impacts both ticket sales and recruiting.

The Wildcats thought they were in line for a similar boost with Reed, and they'll likely have a hard time finding a new head coach with the same name recognition moving forward.

More must-reads: