Former Titans star Eddie George hired as new head coach at Tennessee State

Eddie George is best-known for his success as a running back in the college and the NFL, and now he’s stepping into coaching at Tennessee State.

Eddie George won a Heisman Trophy at Ohio State, then he rushed for over 10,000 yards over his nine-year NFL career spent mostly with the Tennessee Titans. Now, he’s taking on a new challenge. According to Stadium’s Brett Murphy, George will be the new head coach at Tennessee State.

The Tigers have a 2-4 record during the FCS’ spring season, with their season finale Sunday against Southeast Missouri. It will be the final game for current head coach Rod Reed. The team went 2-8 in 2019.

George will be the first major hire for new Tennessee State athletic director Mikki Allen. The Tigers play some of their home games at the Titans’ home stadium, Nissan Stadium, and Allen has talked about the importance of the school’s relationship with the nearby NFL team.

Eddie George will bring another big name to FCS coaching

George’s playing credentials are great, with the aforementioned Heisman Trophy in 1995. He’s a College Football Hall-of-Famer, and he was a first-round pick of the Houston Oilers in 1996. The franchise moved to Tennessee after his rookie season, where George earned all four of his career Pro Bowl nods as the Titans’ workhorse tailback.

In terms of pure name cachet, Tennessee State is following the path Jackson State took when it hired Deion Sanders as its head coach. But Sanders had years of experience as a high school football coach before making that jump, whereas George has no coaching experience.

Tennessee State and Jackson State play each other every year in the Southern Heritage Classic. For next season’s edition, there will be two great NFL players roaming the sidelines as the head coaches.