Eddie George named Tennessee State’s head football coach

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Former NFL player Eddie George has been named the head football coach of Tennessee State University.

Eddie George is Tennessee State’s New football coach

George, 47, a four-time pro bowl running back for the Tennessee Titans from 1996-2003, will replace Rod Reed.

“Eddie George has been a winner in every facet of the game and we look forward to him bringing that same commitment to our players and having it translate into winning on and off the field,” TSU director of athletics Dr. Mikki Allen said in a statement. “We are excited to have him join us and lead the next chapter of our storied football program.”

NFL Career

Eddie George is only the second NFL running back to rush for 10,000 yards while never missing a start, joining Jim Brown. Only Walter Payton (170) started more consecutive regular season games than George’s 130.

He spent his collegiate years at Ohio State University and won the prestigious Heisman’s Trophy as a senior in 1995.

After retiring from the NFL in 2004, George remained in Nashville. He started an acting career, served as a television football analyst and, in 2005, began his own landscape architecture and design company.

Tennessee State, an HBCU, is scheduled to open the 2021 fall season in the Black College Hall of Fame Classic against Grambling State, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton on Sunday, Sept. 5.

“I am excited about being named head coach at Tennessee State University,” George said in a statement released by the school. “… All I have done has prepared me for this moment, whether that’s my football career, my entrepreneurial endeavors, my acting career.”

“Coaching is a full commitment, a duty of service. I take that seriously. I’ve done a lot of soul searching and due diligence. The more I thought about it, I got more and more excited about it. It was like picking up an old guitar or getting back on a bike, it’s familiar but in a different capacity.

“It’s exciting. I’m going to be innovative, creative and fun.”