One of Tennessee's greatest football players is turning to coaching one of the state's storied football programs.
Eddie George was officially hired Tuesday as the head coach of Tennessee State.
George is replacing Ron Reed, who had been with the Tigers since 2010 before the school parted ways with him Monday. Tennessee State, an HBCU, hasn't made the FCS playoffs since 2013 and just wrapped up a 2-5 season.
George played his college ball at Ohio State, the flagship football program of the Big Ten Conference, but will now take his talents to the Ohio Valley Conference.
The former Titans great has no coaching experience, but he isn't the first former NFL star to turn to FCS coaching with limited experience in recent years. Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders was hired as head coach of rival HBCU program and Southern Heritage Classic opponent Jackson State in September. Former Broncos receiver Ed McCaffrey was hired as the Northern Colorado head coach in December 2019.
George, who played for the Oilers/Titans franchise for eight seasons, spent seven years of his career in the state of Tennessee. One of the top RBs of his era, George took home NFL AP Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, was voted to four Pro Bowls and was named first-team All-Pro in 2000. His No. 27 was retired by the Titans in 2019.
Among the notable NFL players to come out of Tennessee State are Hall of Famers Richard Dent and Claude Humphrey, Ed "Too Tall" Jones, Anthony Pleasant and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.
With George's leadership, Tennessee State will hope to produce some more.
