According to Yahoo Sports, Bethune-Cookman’s news release stated Reed had “entered an agreement in principle … to be its 16th head football coach.” As a result, Reed will head to Daytona Beach, Florida, to lead the HBCU football team in the new year.

The Florida native is currently the chief of staff at the University of Miami, where he played from 1998-2001. The Pro Football Hall of Famer becomes the newest former athlete to take the position of coach in the HBCU division.

According to ESPN, since 2000, the Wildcats have won six Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championships. But they’ve struggled to win a title after joining the Southwestern Athletic Conference in 2021 with previous coach Terry Sims, who was fired in November after going 2-9 in back-to-back seasons.

According to Yahoo Sports, Reed began coaching in 2016 when he was the defensive backs coach for the Buffalo Bills.

“We are excited to hear that Ed has been named the head football coach at Bethune-Cookman,” Miami Athletic Director Dan Radakovich told ESPN.

“Ed is one of the best to ever wear a Miami Hurricanes uniform, and he has served as a great mentor to our student-athletes the past three years. He will do a tremendous job leading the Wildcats program, and the entire Miami family wishes him all the best,” he added.

The switch to Bethune-Cookman comes with revamping the team as Deion Sanders did at Jackson State, who led for two years, beginning in 2020. Blavity reported that Sanders had left Jackson State to become head coach at Colorado University earlier this month. Another former high-profile athlete who coaches at an HBCU is Eddie George at Tennessee State.