Bethune-Cookman athletic director Reggie Theus is recounting the college side of the Ed Reed saga less than a week after the pro football Hall of Famer announced he would not be the football program’s next head coach.
In late December, the university announced «an agreement in principle» with Reed to be the head coach of the program after the Wildcats went 2-9 in 2022.
Former NFL player Ed Reed attends Super Bowl LVI between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on February 13, 2022.
(Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
On Saturday, Reed posted a message saying he «couldn’t get things to work» at Bethune-Cookman.
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Reed said the university had been working with his legal team to «craft the terms of the contract with the language and resources that we knew were needed to build a successful soccer program.»
«However, after weeks of negotiations, I have been informed that the University will not ratify my contract and will not honor the agreement we had in principle, which had the most necessary provisions and resources to support student athletes.» he said.
Reed then took to Instagram Live, unleashing a tirade against the university and saying the administration was «forcing me out» while addressing the team.
On Wednesday, Theus, who is also the men’s basketball coach, joined «HBCU Gameday» to tell their side of the story.
ED REED SLIDES A RANT VIDEO AGAINST BETHUNE-COOKMAN AFTER CLAIMING THE UNIVERSITY WILL NOT ‘RATIFY’ THE CONTRACT
Bethune-Cookman Wildcats head coach Reggie Theus looks on during a college basketball game against the Indiana Hoosiers at the Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana on November 10, 2022.
(Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
«I was shocked. I was absolutely shocked by the behavior,» Theus said. «And really appalled by the behavior.»
«He actually let us down, because we expected great things from him and his abilities to help us get to where we want to go as a soccer program,» he continued.
Reed’s time at HBCU got off to a rocky start when he went on a series of rants on Instagram Live in which he criticized the condition of Bethune-Cookman Soccer Facility.
Reed took issue with the trash around the facility and that his office hadn’t been cleaned yet.
While Reed later apologized for the videos, Theus told «HBCU Gameday» that the former baltimore ravens cool he was well aware of conditions at Bethune-Cookman before taking the job.
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«Ed was fully aware of our situation here at Bethune-Cookman,» Theus said. «Ed walked in, unbeknownst to anyone, I showed him around the place, along with my staff, I showed him everything that was good about the show, everything that wasn’t good.
Bethune-Cookman Wildcats head coach Reggie Theus speaks to his team during the second half of a game against the Seton Hall Pirates at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on November 28, 2021.
(Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
«And I also showed him, one of the reasons I wanted to hire him, is because of his ability to help me build the program. Build the program and build the facility that we were talking about. So, there was no excuse for him to act like he was surprised because he knew exactly what was going on here.»
Theus noted that the videos occurred before Reed was under contract.
«And he went into his office… his office was clean,» Theus added. «It just wasn’t clean to his specifications. When he said something about the office, he didn’t work here. He hadn’t signed his contract. So, he hadn’t done any major cleaning work because the trainers had just left the building not long ago.
AD said that after videos of Reed criticizing the facility surfaced, that’s when he realized the partnership wouldn’t work.
Ed Reed speaks to fans on the sidelines before the Baltimore Ravens game against the Cleveland Browns at M and T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on October 23, 2022.
(Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
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«I tried to get Ed to understand that this was not going in the direction that he wanted,» Theus said. “I tried to give him a chance in the conversation to try to make him understand that what he did in that tirade and the subsequent videos, this was not going to work.
«I tried to show him that the university wasn’t trying to challenge him, or that they weren’t trying to put him in a bad light. We wanted him to be able to walk away with his head held high and basically deciding that it was something that didn’t work for him.»
A handful of Bethune-Cookman football players have started a petition calling for Reed’s reinstatement, but Theus said Wednesday the door has been closed on Reed working with the university.