Ed Reed’s tenure at Bethune Cookman lasted less than 30 days.
The Hall of Fame Safety said the program would not “ratify” his contract and would “fulfil” the agreement for him to become the team’s head coach. He also said that “the administration and the AD” coerced him during an Instagram Live video early Saturday.
The program previously announced that Reed would be hired as the program’s head coach on December 27. However, over the past three weeks, Reed has been negative about conditions at HBCUs like BCU, saying these programs have “broken mentalities” and “needs help.”
The program later released a statement Saturday night saying it would not continue contract negotiations with the former nine-time Pro Bowler to become the Wildcats head coach.
“Following a detailed assessment and review of the state of our football program, we have determined that it is in the best interests of our university, our athletics program and our football students to resume the search and identify Bethune’s next leader. Cookman Wildcats Football,” the statement said.
While we appreciate Mr. Reed’s initial interest in our football program over the past few weeks, we are also aware of the qualities and attributes that our institutional staff must exhibit during these uniquely challenging times for our campus as we recover from the impact two hurricanes last fall semester.”
The university has launched a national search to find the program’s next football coach. Reed had taken over a Wildcats program that ran two to nine straight seasons in 2021-22. Former coach Terry Sims was fired in November after seven seasons.
Prior to joining BCU, Reed served in an advisory capacity at his alma mater in Miami.