By HBCU Legacy Bowl Athletes
Eddie Georgia is very familiar with the state of Ohio.
He played for the Buckyes as The Ohio State University and won the Heisman trophy.
So, when Bowling Green, came calling, there was a natural pull back to the state and from Tennessee State.
He accepted the job with the urging of Urban Meyer.
George spent the past four seasons as the head coach at Tennessee State.
“Today, we add another transformative leader to this campus in Eddie George,” Derek van der Merwe, Bowling Green’s vice president for athletics strategy, said in a news release. “Our students are getting someone who has chased success in sports, art, business, and leadership. As our head football coach, he will pursue excellence in all aspects of competition in the arena. More importantly, beyond the arena, he will exemplify what excellence looks like in the classroom, in life, in business, and in relationships with people.”
George emerged as a successful head coach in the FCS at Tennessee State. This past season, he led the program to the FCS playoffs and a share of the OVC-Big South title, the school’s first league title in football since 1999.
“I am truly excited to be the head coach at Bowling Green State University,” George said in the news release. “Bowling Green is a wonderful community that has embraced the school and the athletics department. We are eager to immerse ourselves in the community and help build this program to the greatness it deserves. I am overwhelmed with excitement and joy for the possibilities this opportunity holds.”
George returns to Ohio where he rushed for 3,768 yards over four seasons as a running back for Ohio State. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1995.
In the NFL, George starred for nine seasons, rushing for more than 10,000 yards. He was a 1996 first-round pick of the Houston Oilers and made his name by playing seven seasons in Nashville for the Titans, becoming the franchise’s all-time leading rusher. His jersey number – 27 – was retired by the Titans in 2019.
Tennessee State hired George despite his lack of traditional coaching experience, with the school president at the time calling the move “the right choice and investment” for the future of TSU. George has worked as an actor and entrepreneur and earned an MBA from Northwestern.
George paid back the administration’s faith by building Tennessee State into a winner, including a 9-4 season in 2024 that culminated in its first FCS playoff appearance since 2013. Tennessee State lost to Montana in the first round.
George’s hire at TSU continued the trend of former star players being hired at historically Black colleges and universities.
Jackson State made the biggest splash in hiring Deion Sanders, who went on to a successful stint at Colorado. and DeSean Jackson’s hire at Delaware State and Michael Vick’s hire at Norfolk State continued the trend this offseason.
George will replace Scot Loeffler, who left the school to become the quarterbacks coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Bowling Green has become one of the top coaching springboards of this generation, with Urban Meyer, Dave Clawson and Dino Babers all advancing from the school to power conference jobs. Loeffler went 27-41 over six seasons, a run that included bowl appearances in each of the past three seasons.
The Mid-American conference school has a strong tradition and has put out several NFL players including linebacker Phil Villapiano, defensive back Martin Bayless, wide receiver Scottie Miller and offensive lineman Kory Lichtensteiger.