Ed Reed, the longtime Ravens safety and a future Pro Football Hall of Famer, will be reunited with Bills coach Rex Ryan on Ryan's coaching staff.
The Bills announced Wednesday that Reed has been hired as an assistant defensive backs coach for the 2016 season, his first job as a coach after playing 12 seasons in the NFL.
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Reed, 37, spent eight of those seasons playing for Ryan, when Ryan was an assistant coach for the Ravens from 2002-08 and the Jets' head coach in 2014. Reed, a nine-time Pro Bowler and the 2004 Defensive Player of the year, retired from football after the 2014 season.
"Ed Reed is going to be such a great asset to our team," Ryan said in a statement. "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."
It was the second high-profile hire of the week for Ryan. On Monday, the Bills announced Ryan's twin brother, Rob, would join the team's staff under the title of assistant head coach/defense.
Reed was lauded as a player for his football acumen and leadership. He'll put those traits to work under defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman in an attempt to fix the Bills' underachieving, 19th-ranked defense from last season.
"Having spent time with Ed in Baltimore and then New York, I can attest to the incredibly high level of professionalism he is going to bring with him to Buffalo," Ryan said. "He's going to teach guys how he studies film, bring the guys along and add so much in that way."
