Tennessee Titans legend Eddie George introduced as Tennessee State head football coach
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BVM) — Swirling reports of the hiring of a new head football coach at Tennessee State University following the school鈥檚gave way to a special announcement by the university and the athletic department Tuesday. At the press conference, the Tigers introduced former Tennessee Titans and Ohio State football star Eddie George as their newest head football coach, the 22nd head coach in program history.
鈥淸I鈥檓] extremely aware of the rich history here and I get it so taking this job on carries a lot of weight. I have big shoes to fill, but I feel like I鈥檓 the man to get the job done,鈥� George said during his opening statements at . 鈥淚鈥檓 extremely excited. We have a lot of work to do. This is a day of excitement, but I am extremely proud to be a Tiger. Go Big Blue.鈥�
TSU Names NFL great and Heisman Trophy Winner Eddie George Head Football Coach
— Tennessee State Athletics (@TSU_Tigers)
The excitement surrounding the hiring is at a fever pitch considering the impact that George has left on the community of Nashville.
As a player, George was drafted with the No. 14 overall pick in the 1996 NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers, who would later move to Nashville to become the Tennessee Titans, after a Heisman trophy winning senior year as a running back at Ohio State. From there, George would simply become one of the best players in Oilers/Titans history as he would play eight years with the Titans, setting 28 team records including most rushing attempts in a career with 2,733, most rushing yards in a career with 10,009, most total touchdowns in a career with 74 and most 1,000 yard rushing seasons in a career with seven. His No. 27 jersey was retired by the Titans in 2019 and he is also a member of the Oilers/Titans ring of honor.
That legacy played a large part in the hiring of George and the staff members behind the decision are happy to have him at the helm for the Tigers.
鈥淚鈥檓 proud to say that our new leader is a proven winner both on and off the field.鈥� TSU Director of Athletics Mikki Allen said during the press conference. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a Nashville legend and one of the greatest players of all time. He鈥檚 passionate and knowledgeable about the game of football, but more importantly he鈥檚 dedicated and committed to developing and teaching young men the game of football. He鈥檚 dynamic. He鈥檚 charismatic. He鈥檚 energetic and magnetic and has all the tools necessary to build a championship level program here at the Tennessee State University.鈥�
George was admittedly hesitant to the idea of becoming the Tigers new head coach. Although he is an NFL legend, he has never been the head coach of a program, instead pursuing careers in a number of different fields such as acting on broadway, being a football analyst and being a business owner after earning his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. However, the pull of the opportunity at Tennessee State kept reeling him back in.
鈥淲hen I was presented with this opportunity a few weeks ago I was speechless. I was floored. I was like, 鈥榥o鈥� in the beginning,鈥� George said. 鈥淏ut, I have to be honest, I had some excitement about it. I was like, 鈥楾hat would be pretty cool to be a head coach.鈥� I had seen what Deion [Sanders] had done with Jackson State, the energy he created. Coaching wasn鈥檛 at the forefront of my mind 鈥� But again it resonated in my spirit and it wouldn鈥檛 go away.鈥�
Ultimately, George felt that although he had done many things in the past, and will still balance some facets of his life like his businesses, it was the perfect time for him to serve others in his community.
鈥淟eadership and being a head coach is about service and serving others and I鈥檓 at a place in my life where I鈥檓 ready to do just that and whatever comes with that, the good, the bad and the ugly, I鈥檓 willing to deal with it and move accordingly because my goal is to get this program back to prominence,鈥� George said. 鈥淚 put my word on that. I鈥檓 fully committed. I鈥檓 totally focused on it and I鈥檓 excited to do it.鈥�
George leaned on some of the people in coaching that he knew or was coached by to get an understanding of the role and gauge their thoughts on his fit with TSU. One of those coaches was former Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher, who has been instrumental in helping George during his new journey.
鈥淗e said, 鈥極h Eddie, that would be great! You would be awesome!鈥欌�� George said. 鈥淗aving Jeff has been invaluable. He鈥檚 really gone out of his way to guide me, to teach me, to show me all the blindspots to think about away from the field 鈥� all the stuff you need to do to present a package to the players so that鈥檚 been huge and the thrill of it has been honestly reconnecting with Jeff in this capacity. He鈥檚 been my coach, now he鈥檚 my mentor helping me become a coach. It鈥檚 been awesome working with him in this capacity.鈥�
While he hasn鈥檛 coached a snap of football in his life yet, George feels like the steps in his life have prepared him for what is to come. He鈥檚 gone through the college process, he and his sons have been recruited, he鈥檚 seen in-game situations and he has led numerous young men as a mentor. He feels these lessons are things that will help him excel as a coach, even as his coaching strategy gets molded with time.
鈥淚 believe I can do [coaching] because I鈥檝e been a mentor my whole life,鈥� George said. 鈥淣ow to get into the nuances of [coaching] that鈥檚 where the learning curve will be and I ask for your patience, I ask for your support to do this because the No. 1 goal is to win and bring prominence back to this university where it belongs.鈥�
At the end of the day, George certainly has the confidence to be a head coach.
鈥淚 had to start somewhere and I have no doubt I can be successful at this,鈥� George said. 鈥淎s soon as I get off this podium, it鈥檚 time to get busy. 鈥� We鈥檙e going to take this bad boy one step at a time, one breath at a time and one bite at a time and that鈥檚 how I鈥檓 going to approach this.鈥�
Based on his ability to excel at whatever he does, nobody should doubt George when he puts his mind to something. As the new Tigers head coach, George will look to bring success to an area he has never explored before and that in itself should bring excitement to TSU.
Welcome to Coach Eddie George 馃張
— Tennessee State Football (@TSUTigersFB)
