Ed Reed has heard the question — Is ‘The U’ back? — so many times, he has an answer ready.
“Miami has never left,” he said.
“Teams go through things. Teams struggle. Last time I checked, we’ve still got championships here. We’ve been through sanctions and stuff like that. We’ll come up out of it. We have before. We’re back? We’ll see. It’s another year. A new year. We’re gong to take it one practice at time, one game at a time.”
Reed, almost certainly a future Hall of Fame safety (college in 2018, pro in 2019), was one of the former UM stars who returned to campus Saturday as guest coaches for Paradise Camp. He gave a speech to a couple hundred recruits afterward. The main message: make good choices.
Check back later Sunday to see the full video.
After that, we caught up with Reed for a few good minutes:
* He couldn’t watch the Hurricanes last year, given his duties as an assistant defensive backs coach with the Buffalo Bills. His thoughts on Miami:
“I just know coach is doing the right things, saying the right things to these guys,” he said. “Players have to take control.”
* What’s next for Reed, personally?
“I’m thinking 500 million, maybe a billionaire at some point,” he joked. “I’m trying to get my future comfortable as far as my finances and my life.”
Reed said he’s building a park in his home neighborhood of Saint Rose in New Orleans, working on his foundation and spending time with his family, including his 9-year-old son, Edward (who, interestingly, is a Patriots fan).
“The biggest thing right now is kids, the communities, and building up these young men,” he said.
* In January, Reed wasn’t retained by new Bills coach Sean McDermott. He spent one year in Buffalo, his first coaching opportunity, under Rex Ryan, who was fired in December. Ryan, his former defensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens, predicted Reed would be a head coach one day.
After Al Golden’s dismissal in 2015, Reed was a popular choice among fans to return to Coral Gables as a coach. Does he have aspirations of coaching at Miami?
“Yeah, I definitely do,” he said. “You will see me here, you’ll hear about it, I guarantee it. If coach wants me, needs me to come here and help, I’m going to come here and watch film with the guys, talk to them. I’ve got a couple recruits here I would love to work with if they came here. That’s on them, that’s going to be on coach. I definitely will be back here helping out in some form or fashion.”
More from Paradise Camp 2017:
[Richt, old Canes fired up about future]
[Young Playmaker: Irvin high on UM’s Richards]
Filed under: 2017 season, 2018 football recruiting, 2019 football recruiting, 2020 football recruiting, 2021 football recruiting, Football, Matt Porter, Recruiting Tagged: caneswatch, Miami Hurricanes, sports, sportsfront
