Ed Reed’s Role at The U

Early this year, the University of Miami was looking for someone to become the football program’s Chief of Staff. The position was intended to get a new face looking over the program to work with head coach Manny Diaz in improving the team. After negotiations with Alonzo Highsmith fell through due to differences on how much power he would have and the salary of the job, the Canes were looking for a new name to potentially take this position.

Enter Edward Earl Reed Jr.

Ed Reed was one of the greatest players to not only don a Canes jersey, but is perhaps the greatest safety to ever live. On January 30th, 2020, the University of Miami Athletics announced the the College Football Hall of Famer, NFL Hall of Famer, and NFL 100 All-Time Team member was hired as the Chief of Staff for the Canes’ football program.

Many were excited about the move coming off of a horrific 6-7 season with a Dan Enos offense, but others believed that the hiring was purely a PR move and that Reed wouldn’t have any real say or affect on anything related to the team.

Reed specified his role in Miami during his introductory press conference. -

Now looking back at the hire six months later, the hire looks to have made a big impact in recruiting. Need an example, look no further than Miami freshman safety Avantae Williams. Coach Banda and Manny Diaz built a long term relationship with the four-star recruit leading up to his decision in early February, but I believe that the hiring of Ed Reed as Chief of Staff less than a week ahead of his decision was what sealed the deal and was the cherry on top for Williams. Avantae looked like a Gator lock and had UF Twitter talking about “Tae Day” but everything changed so suddenly in Miami’s favor and he signed to the Canes. Reed coached Tae at the Under Armour All-America Game back in January and had this to say about the safety, “It was fun, man, working with him. I felt like the kid was athletic — definitely an athlete, definitely showed heart — but I also saw that he’s young and needs guidance and needs help with his technique and stuff like that.”

One scenario playing out right now involving Reed is the recruitment of

five-star safety James Williams. Shortly after the Reed hire, Williams dropped Miami from his top 3. Despite this, Williams recently ADDED Miami in his Top 2 with Georgia. It should be noted that Ed Reed has been a factor in the recruiting process with James Williams according to CanesSport.com . Williams is quoted as saying that he wants to see Miami win and that it’s all he wants to see. I believe his decision will be based almost entirely on the success of Miami in this upcoming season.

It’s too early at this point to call Reed’s short tenure at Miami a success, but Reed has clearly made Miami a more enticing destination for prospects from South Florida. We’re gonna have to keep an eye on these situations as we inch closer to national letter of intend day and national signing day on December 18 and February 3 respectively.