Three weeks. That’s how long NFL legend Ed Reed was the head football coach at Bethune-Cookman University.

However, it might be more accurate to say Reed was just the interim head coach of the team, considering his contract was never ratified. He wasn’t much more than a place holder, a substitute teacher.

Let’s rewind to Nov. 29, the day BCU fired former head coach Terry Sims. The school repeated a depressing 2-9 record in 2021 and 2022, leading to Sims’ removal.

A month later, on Dec. 27, the university made national headlines by hiring Ed Reed, the previous chief of staff of the University of Miami’s football program. Considering the program’s poor start to the decade, and the success Jackson State enjoyed under Deion Sanders, hiring another Hall of Famer seemed like a home run.

Reed received an outpour of praise on social media, with his post acknowledging the hire totaling over 11,000 likes and over 700 comments. Former teammates and competitors, coaches, T.V. personalities, and athletic directors across the country voiced their support for Reed.

Unfortunately for Reed, a live streamed tirade cost him his job.

On Jan. 15, Reed went on Instagram Live and immediately launched into an expletive-filled outburst.

“I’m out here with the football team picking up trash,” Reed began. “I should leave, I’m not even under contract doing this.”

He then flipped the camera and gestured to a clearing:

 “These m*****f*****s ain’t even clean my godd**n office when I got here. All this sh*t here was trash in front [of] me. Who you think got this sh*t cleared out?”

Reed ended the rant with one last dig:

“We don’t need no godd**n donors to come help out, cause people just want money.”

In another video, the former coach continued to question HBCUs.

“Prime [Deion Sanders] wasn’t wrong about what he was saying. We gon try to help y’all too man, cause I know a lot of HBCUs need help, and they need help because of the people who’re running it. Broken mentalities out here.”

Reed continued, “I’ve been here for a week and half and have done more than people who’ve been here for freaking years. And I’m not even hired yet. Damn shame.”

Obviously, the BCU administration didn’t take Reed’s allegations lightly. Reed posted an apology, but after days of deliberation, the school announced they would not ratify his contract. Interim university President Lawrence Drake II released a statement on Reed and the ensuing student protests.

“While social media and media outlets have seized on not continuing negotiations with NFL Hall of Fame player Ed Reed,” Drake said, “many of our students chose to use this moment to voice their concerns. This administration takes no issue with this…Still, as continued to observe him, we felt that his behavior was not aligned with the traditions of our founder Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, and the university.”

In a final video, the Hall of Famer addressed his former team. A passionate, almost tearful Reed turned an apology into another accusation.

“It hurts because people don’t care about these kids like I do. And they [BCU administration] should be the one’s leaving, not me.”

On Feb. 2, BCU hired Raymond Woodie Jr. as their new head coach. Woodie Jr. previously worked at Florida Atlantic University, according to Sports Illustrated. He also coached at Florida State, Oregon, Western Kentucky, and the University of South Florida.

Reed’s coaching future in uncertain.