If you knew Ed Reed, even for a little bit, his embarrassing 25-day long tenure as head football coach at Bethune-Cookman should come as no surprise. That’s because Reed doesn’t give a damn. Let me explain.
As a Hall of Fame safety, mostly for the Baltimore Ravens, that characteristic worked well. Safeties must have short memories and Reed was notorious – notoriously good – at putting a bad play behind him and then, a few plays later, breaking a game open with a spectacular interception. He could, in a quick second, change the course of a quarter, half, game, season or career. He was that good. He was the best safety I’ve ever seen.
Reed was vicious, brilliant and fearless.
But that not-giving-a-damn isn’t the attitude you necessarily want as a college football coach. In his few weeks at Bethune-Cookman, that trait morphed into something different, as Reed engaged in shaming the university, angering school officials and humiliating himself in the process.
SHORT TENURE:Reed says he’s being forced out at Bethune-Cookman
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Why is this story important? It shows how HBCU football programs – one of the stalwarts for Black athletic and scholastic brilliance – are still looking for the best way forward. Do HBCUs go the traditional coaching route or do they try and replicate what Deion Sanders did at Jackson State?
Reed has provided another data point in making that determination. Reed showed that…
