HBCU Bethune-Cookman should fire Ed Reed

In less than a month than that new head football coach at Bethune-Cookman University – A Historically Black College & University (HBCU) – Ed Reed has already unsurprisingly proven why he should never have been hired. At the weekend, the COle and PRo Ffootball heverything from FAmer took to social media to rant in punchy monologues, gushing about how Deion Sanders “wasn’t wrong about HBCUs” and how leadership at HBCUs somehow has “broken mentalities.” All of this is from a man who has never officiated at official practice.

This is what happens when schools believe the following the Jackson State model with Deion Sanders is sustainable, and when a grown man imitates another grown man.

“I just drove to work. We’ll try to help you all, man. Because I know a lot of HBCUs need help,” Reed said in one of his social media videos. I’m just here to help here first. I see that all too clearly. All of our HBCUs need help. And they need help because of the people running it. Broken mentalities out here. I’ll leave you alone with that. I have to go to the office.”

“I’ve been here a week and a half and I’ve done more than the people who’ve been here in damn years. And I’m not even hired yet. Damn shame,” Reed claimed.

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reed later issued an apology in which he attributed his lack of professionalism to his passion. “I became a victim of engaging with antagonists on social media as well,” he wrote. But the damage was already done. A program that was 2-9 last season and a university still grappling with the fallout from the pandemic as well as the impact of a hurricane that transformed campus operations is now dealing with Reed’s needless antics. Not only is Reed an outsider when it comes to the HBCU landscape, but he is He also doesn’t tick any of the boxes when it comes to coaching or running a program. His only experience was as an assistant coach in the NFL for one season and as a consultant and chief of staff for the football program at his alma mater – the University of Miami.

Reed’s decision to take to social media to disparage Bethune-Cookman is very reminiscent of when Sanders did something similar to let us know Car was broken into and that some of him personal belongings had been stolen after his first game. Sanders later told us via social media that they were items taken from his car were returned. You found out later Sanders’ belongings had been moved and hadn’t been stolen on his coaching debut.

Beyond childic behavior

The frustrations and anger that both Sanders and Reed may have felt With the jobs she willingly accepts, that’s more than understandable. What is not the case, however, is that two grown men – who are also two of the greatest players in football history – ran onto the internet, or a friend with a microphone posing as a journalist to air unnecessarily dirty laundry reminiscent of teenagers who are trying to increase their “likes” and “engagement” on TikTok. This goes beyond childish behavior. These are acts of men of youthful minds who dare to demand accountability when they have not proved themselves capable of their own demands. And then to insult the mentalities and dedication of HBCU’s students, alumni, faculty and staff as if these great institutions operate like ailing corner shops is not only repugnant but the shining example of why these two are men a detriment to the culture and HBCUs as a whole. Reed and Sanders illustrate why the celebrity coach trend in HBCUs needs to be rooted out and banned — forever.

For the smart people in the room who always got that Sanders would never be the so-called savior of the HBCUsReed’s rant is exactly what we meant when we said it Sanders hasn’t made things better for HBCUs overall. He just made things better for the JSU football team for three seasons, and even then he choked in the biggest game…twice.

There is also Hue Jackson

And if Reed’s antics aren’t enough to justify why the trend of hiring celebrity coaches must end at HBCUs, then in Grambling State, Hue Jackson is Exhibit A. Even before he coached his first game, Jackson made headlines for doubling down is trying to hire Art Briles as his offensive coordinator – a man who was then all but banned from coaching being an alleged serial rapist during his tenure as Baylor’s head coach. [Editor’s note: An NCAA report at the time found that Briles “failed to meet even the most basic expectations of how a person should react to the kind of conduct at issue in this case.”] And now Jackson – coming off a 3-8 debut season – is making recruiting videos on social media copying Sanders.I’m bringing my luggage and it’s Louis‘ he was quoted as telling players in Colorado about the recruits he would sign. In the video, Jackson poses with expensive luggage next to a Maybach. This is the same man who posted an 11-44 record as an NFL head coach.

Eddie George gets it right

However, if there’s one celebrity coach who gets it right, it’s Tennessee State’s Eddie George. The Tigers will make history next season first HBCU to play at Notre Dame Stadium. It appears George got the job done by listening, asking questions, and understanding what involved being involved with HBCUs and HBCU athletics. “The bigger problem that the school (TSU) is struggling with is the money it is owed from the land grants for the last 50 years. And that can be a huge handshake for our institution,” George said in a recent interview about the obstacles HBCUs constantly face that so many ignore or are unaware of.

These are the things that keep leadership at HBCUs up at night, oblivious to whether Reed’s office is clean enough. Because what Reed, Sanders and so many others failed to realize is that athletics has never been, and never will be, a top priority at HBCUs. They are not why these institutions were established, have survived, and are still thriving. The tall man or woman on The Yard (campus) will never be an athlete as they are usually at the bottom of the social ladder. And if you think there’s something wrong with that, or that it needs changing, that’s proof an HBCU isn’t for you.

But still, some of Reed’s irritations are warranted. Just because athletics isn’t the number one priority at HBCUs doesn’t mean more can’t be done. Back in 2013, Grambling’s football team boycotted for almost a week due to the conditions of their team facilities, long bus trips to away games and staffing decisions. And at the time of this writing, Morehouse College — a place where Doug Williams and Todd Bowles once spent time coaching on the touchlines — still hasn’t hired a new head football coach.

We have to do better. We have to do better.

But hiring men like Reed and Sanders is not the solution. They focus on what HBCUs can do for them, rather than what they can do for HBCUs. And at some point, we’ll have to hold schools accountable for these mayflies that don’t help in the long run. The public – and the HBCUs themselves – need to stop viewing these campuses as such Soft landing spots or places to “get your foot in the door”..” These are world-class institutions that produce alumni who are changing the world.

In conclusion, the best example of why Ed Reed doesn’t deserve to be affiliated with Bethune-Cookman University or any other HBCU is a video clip of him delivering an impassioned halftime speech to his teammates while playing in Miami. “I put my heart in this shit! Let’s go man!” he yells. If a man with so much passion and determination can’t bring the same energy in a positive way to a school founded by one of the world’s finest educators, philanthropists, humanitarians and civil rights activists (Mary McLeod Bethune), Then the answer is simple – fire Ed Reed.