NFL Hall of Famer Ed Reed Hired as Bethune-Cookman’s New Head Coach

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Jackson State found plenty of success in the Southwestern Athletic Conference by hiring a Hall of Fame defensive back in Deion Sanders, and Bethune-Cookman is hoping to do the same.

The Wildcats announced Tuesday that they are hiring Ed Reed as their next head football coach.

Reed was a dynamic playmaker at safety during his career.

He first started becoming a household name at the collegiate level for Miami as a two-time consensus All-American. He was the 2001 Big East Defensive Player of the Year and led the Hurricanes to the national championship that season.

The Baltimore Ravens then selected him in the first round of the 2002 NFL draft, and he played 11 of his 12 NFL seasons for the franchise. Reed’s NFL career included a Super Bowl title, Defensive Player of the Year, nine Pro Bowl selections and five All-Pro nods.

It was enough to be named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame during his first time on the ballot in 2019.

He returned to Miami’s football program in January 2020 when the Hurricanes named him chief of staff. While that move happened during the Manny Diaz era, the legendary player remained with the program this season during the first year of the Mario Cristobal era.

Reed now heads to Bethune-Cookman after the school fired head coach Terry Sims in November.

Sims led the team for seven seasons and went 38-39 with four winning campaigns.

Yet the Wildcats were just 2-9 in each of the past two years and were left looking up at Jackson State during the Sanders era. The Tigers went 8-0 in conference play in each of the past two seasons with Sanders at the helm prior to a departure to become the head coach of Colorado.

Perhaps Reed can help Bethune-Cookman close the gap.