Ravens fans got a bit of a shock last night when the Buffalo Bills announced that former Ravens safety Ed Reed would be serving as Rex Ryan’s new assistant defensive backs coach.
“Ed Reed is going to be such a great asset to our team,” said Ryan in a statement released by the team late Wednesday evening. “Obviously he’s played in this system and been an MVP caliber guy in this system. He’s going to be such a great asset for players. He’s a real student of the game as well and he’s going to be a phenomenal coach.”
Reed, perhaps the greatest “ball-hawking” safety of all time, will bring his vast experience in Ryan’s system to the Bills’ young defensive backfield. He will be tasked with teaching players how he studies film and other aspects of the position.
Closer to home, the news of Reed’s hiring spread like wildfire with mixed emotions among Ravens fans.
The social media world was set ablaze with reactions from Ravens Nation. Those reactions ranged from those congratulating the nine-time Pro Bowler to those speculating the Ravens and John Harbaugh hated Reed and wanted no part in bringing back the player, who patrolled the Ravens secondary from 2002-2012.
Some even suggested that this was the “stupidest thing” the Ravens have done in their 20-year existence.
Listen….stop.
Reed was a dominant player for the Ravens, who spent his entire career in Baltimore wreaking havoc on opposing signal callers.
Could the former Super Bowl champ help a defensive backfield who have had more turnover at the position in the last few seasons than the number of turnovers they forced? Sure, but you can’t teach greatness. There is a huge difference between showing someone how to watch film and them being able to apply those lessons on the field.
Let us not forget that Reed was a one-of-a-kind type player who, frankly, played by his own rules, and kept coaching staffs wondering what was coming next. He, at times, marched to the beat of his own drummer – something he could afford to do given his natural-born talent.
I truly understand the fans’ reaction to the news of the Reed hire; in fact, I found myself wondering if the Ravens approached him prior to Rex swooping in.
Of course there is always the possibility that the Ring of Honor safety didn’t want to work for John Harbaugh. Remember, Harbaugh wanted the team to practice in pads several years ago, which caused a stir in the locker room, with Reed as one of those reportedly most rankled by the suggestion.
Perhaps Ed would have rather joined the man in Buffalo, a man he wanted as the head coach of the Ravens instead of Harbaugh after Brian Billick was fired following the 2007 season.
All are possibilities – ones that we may never truly get an answer to.
In the meantime however, I’m thankful for the years of watching Reed play on the football field where his football greatness will no doubt lead to a first ballot Hall of Fame honor, which is better than watching him hold a clipboard as a first time assistant DB coach.
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