Former Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend. As part of the eight-man class, Reed cements his legacy as one of the best safeties to ever play the sport. But would that expertise translate to a coaching job? Reed sure believes so.
According to Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News, Reed said he almost applied for a job with Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. But then he thought about how that news would be received by Ravens fans.
“But I knew Baltimore wouldn’t like that,” he said. “I would love for it to just be with the Patriots.”
Reed knows all too well the rivalry between Baltimore and New England. He played against the Patriots on seven separate occasions while with the Ravens, including three playoff games. Though Baltimore won two of the three postseason games, that one loss came in the 2011 AFC championship game.
Reed has experience as an NFL coach, though it didn’t go well. Reed joined former Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan as an assistant coach with the Buffalo Bills in 2016. Reed said his problems came down to the staff around him, though he pointed out that he had no issue with Ryan — whom he called “my guy.”
“As a staff, we weren’t good,” Reed said, per Carucci. “We weren’t good as a staff, and I learned that early. But I was already hired at that point.”
“You had people that were just hardheaded, man,” Reed said. “Honestly. Just grown men, like hardheaded, like, don’t want to work with you.
Reed wouldn’t name names but said he figured joining the Bills staff after having played with Ryan would be an easier transition, “because they would understand how I was and know that I’m not a player, I’m a coach now. But I was still being treated like a player.”
In spite of the difficulties, Reed said he enjoyed coaching the players and spent time coaching every position group on defense.
Given his ties to Baltimore, who knows? Maybe we’ll see him on a Ravens sideline again someday . . . with a headset on instead of a helmet.
