Update (1/21/23, 10 PM EST): Bethune-Cookman has released a statement about deciding to move on from Ed Reed and resume their search for a permanent head coach for the Wildcat football team.
The statement from the press release reads:
“Bethune-Cookman has announced that it has decided not to proceed with contract negotiations with Ed Reed to become the next head football coach at B-CU.
After undergoing a detailed assessment and review of the state of our football program, we have determined that it is in the best interest of our university, athletics program, and football student-athletes to reopen the search and identify the next leader of Bethune-Cookman Wildcats Football.
Bethune-Cookman University was founded with core guiding principles centered around integrity, accountability, and mutual respect for others. These guiding principles have and will continue to weigh heavily on all decisions made that impact our university.
While we appreciated 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 has been uniquely challenging times for our campus as we recover from the impact of two hurricanes during this past fall semester.
We remain steadfast and committed to building a championship caliber football program that excels on the field, inside the classroom, and within our local community.
Our university community has placed the upmost trust and faith in us to continue to advance our institution and we will continue to strive to live up to the high standards that have been set for all individuals affiliated with our illustrious university.
A national search to fill the football head coach position at B-CU has resumed as the university seeks to identify a permanent replacement in the coming days.”
Read The Original Reporting On The Article Below
Less than a week after his expletive-filled tirade about the conditions of Bethune-Cookman University, Ed Reed says he no longer will be head coach of the Wildcats. Ed Reed was announced as head coach on December 27th via Bethune-Cookman Athletic’s Twitter account. A contract had not been finalized between the parties in the time since. According to Reed, the University informed him that they will not move forward with finalizing his 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, which had provisions and resources best needed to support the student athletes,” Reed said in his statement, “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.”
Reed also took to IG Live to release a statement, which was joined by former Jackson State head coach and current Colorado head coach Deion Sanders. In his IG Live, Ed Reed says that he did not withdraw his name and that Bethune-Cookman didn’t want him as coach because he “told the truth”.
Reed’s statement comes after a week of critiques from the HBCU community and some media members claiming that he should be fired for his actions on social media. Deadspin author and Morehouse alumnus Carron J. Phillips penned an op-ed entitled “Bethune-Cookman should fire Ed Reed — no more celebrity football coaches at HBCUs”.
“The frustrations and anger that both Sanders and Reed may have felt about what comes with the jobs they willingly accepted are more than understandable. However, what isn’t, is that two grown men — who are also two of the greatest players in football history — ran to the internet, or a friend with a microphone posing as a journalist, to air unnecessarily dirty laundry in a way that is reminiscent of teenagers trying to get their “likes” and “engagement” up on TikTok,” Phillips said in his op-ed, “For the smart people in the room that always understood that Sanders would never be the so-called savior of HBCUs, Reed’s rants are exactly what we meant when we said that Sanders didn’t make things better for HBCUs as a whole.”
This situation is breaking and we will update you on any new revelations.
