Hiring of Ed Reed continues trend in HBCU football, tradition at Bethune-Cookman
From the outside, it may appear that Bethune-Cookman’s hiring of Ed Reed, a Pro Football Hall of Fame safety, is following the template set by Jackson State, a fellow HBCU program that hired Deion Sanders and experienced immediate success.
Sanders, also a hall-of-fame defensive back, went 28-5 over three seasons at Jackson State before accepting the coaching position at Colorado earlier this month. Prior to last season, Tennessee State hired former Titans and Ohio State running back Eddie George as its head coach. The Tigers are 9-13 in George’s two seasons.
But a little history lesson points to other instances of an NFL player joining the coaching ranks at an HBCU. In fact, Reed won’t even be the first hall of famer to become coach at B-CU.
"The template at Bethune-Cookman has been that for years," said Lynn Thompson, who served as Wildcats athletic director from 1991 until 2021.
REED HIRED: Hall of Famer Ed Reed set to become next Bethune-Cookman football coach
REED-JUVENATED: Hiring of Ed Reed creating new buzz around Bethune-Cookman football program
STAY UP-TO-DATE: Subscribe to our Sports newsletter now!
In 1961, then-university-president Richard Moore lured Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Cy McClairen back to B-CU, his alma mater, to coach. McClairen left behind his six-year professional career to lead the Wildcat football program for 15 years over two stints (1961-1972 and 1994-1996) while also serving as the school’s basketball coach for 31 seasons. With 397 wins, he’s still the winningest coach in Bethune-Cookman men’s basketball history.
In 1983, former athletic director Lloyd “Tank” Johnson brought in eventual Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive guard Larry Little, who went on to lead the program for nine seasons. Little also served on the search committee leading to Reed’s hire.
Unlike McClairen and Little, Reed is not an alum, and obviously the world of college football and athletics has changed drastically in recent decades. Success will be the expectation, but for now, Thompson said the hire itself has already been just that.
"What the leadership has done is a great thing," Thompson said. "I think they won the PR battle, which has created a ground swell of great public relations, and that’s what you have to do to please all of the stakeholders. It’s more important to elicit some excitement with the recruits and the fanbase."
Yet the recent hires of Sanders, George and now Reed have drawn attention not only on the individual schools, but on HBCUs as a whole. Thompson believes that the spotlight continues to be a positive and is happy to see national interest now shifting to Bethune-Cookman as well.
"It shines a light on something," Thompson said. "HBCUs, for some people, they say they’re hidden treasures and I think that’s not the case. HBCUs are treasures that other folks may have never looked at and for them, hidden from their view.
"For everybody else, they’ve been right there for a while. For the rest of America to see how special these institutions are and all of the great things happening there, it’s a great thing.”
Mainland High School coach and former Bethune-Cookman defensive back Travis Roland agreed.
"It’s awesome these big names have no issue choosing us on the HBCU level," Roland said. "Sometimes we’re looked at like we’re not worthy enough or being a place where you can’t advance, and the fact Ed looked at Bethune-Cookman like a spot where he can come be successful shows some real value in HBCU schools. Bethune helped mold me into who I am today."
While HBCU football is growing in the national consciousness with each splash hire, alumni still harp on a close-knit, family-type feel, one that Reed should expect to be quickly welcomed into.
"I would tell him first off, to expect a welcoming, family atmosphere," former B-CU linebacker and DeLand High School standout Trenton Bridges said. "Bethune-Cookman is a wonderful place to be. It’s a wonderful family."
"Becoming part of the Bethune-Cookman family is a life-changing, transformational experience," Thompson echoed. "You walk that campus, you become heir to the legacy of Mary McLeod Bethune. It changes your life. It gives you a greater passion for service and ministry. You understand you’re walking on sacred ground and you can do amazing things on that campus. I look forward to seeing those things."