George speaks for the first time as head coach of the Bowling Green Falcons.
March is typically the start of spring football for the 136 FBS programs, but for one Midwest program, the month made room for an introductory press conference.
Fans, students, faculty, and alumni decked in orange and brown flocked to the Stroh Center on the campus of Bowling Green to give a heart welcome to the program’s new head football coach, Eddie George.
For many longtime football fans, Eddie George is a name that doesn’t need much introduction. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1995 at Ohio State, and he went on to have a lucrative NFL career with the Tennessee Titans franchise, winning Rookie of the Year honors while earning two All-Pro and four Pro Bowl selections.
After nearly two decades out of the game, George returned to the football world to serve a different purpose — one as a head coach in 2021. He took over FCS program Tennessee State and led an impressive turnaround, leading the program to a 9-4 record and FCS playoff appearance last fall. George’s quick success at Tennessee State, combined with his Ohio ties, made him the preferred fit for Bowling Green when six-year head coach Scot Loeffler unexpectedly stepped down to pursue a quarterbacks coach role on the Philadelphia Eagles staff.
George was formally introduced Monday, and here are notes from the opening press conference.
Why Bowling Green wanted George
Immediately after Scot Loeffler stepped down as head coach, Bowling Green athletic director Derek van der Merwe led a meeting with the football team, brainstorming qualities the roster sought out most in their next head coach.
“They talked about loyalty,” Van der Merwe said. “A person that really values relationships, a person who truly cares about people the BGSU way… They wanted a leader who is accessible and humble, someone who can build trust who truly understood what ‘team’ means, and how much they truly love each other as a team. They wanted someone who inspires them and wants to inspire them to love the game each and every day they step into the football building.”
Van der Merwe also consulted a team of advisors during the coaching search which included Mike Wilcox (former Bowling Green lacrosse alum), Larry Benz (founder of Confluent Health), Dave Clawson (Bowling Green head football coach, 2009-13), and Urban Meyer (Bowling Green head football coach, 2001-02). It was the first football coaching search of van der Merwe’s tenure, which started in October 2022.
Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Clawson and Meyer, previous coaches of the program, offered van der Merwe advice in the type of coach that is best suited for Bowling Green.
“Focus on people, focus on that, and you will achieve great things in this community each and every day,” van der Merwe recalled as their emphases during the search. “A person with great passion and drive for the game, a good listener that values people and learning, a growth mindset innovator and entrepreneur, and finally, finally, and it really is in that priority order — a great football coach. A great football coach is last.”
Meyer, a former national championship winner at Florida and Ohio State, was especially instrumental in bringing George’s name to the forefront of Bowling Green’s wishlist.
“After talking to Urban Meyer, he called me and said, ‘I only have one name for you,’” van der Merwe recalled. “I said, ‘Give me names, give me as many names as you can,’ but he said, ‘I have one name for you. I want you to talk to Eddie George.’ I said, ‘The Heisman Trophy winner, right?’ He said, ‘Don’t look at anything. Don’t read his background. Talk to the human being.’”
A brief meeting between van der Merwe and George brought confirmation to the athletic department that George was the hire that checked all the aforementioned boxes.
“Eddie is someone who cares about people, values personal growth and development, defines himself by his ability to adapt, adjust, and have success in every aspect of his life,” van der Merwe said. “When he was talking about the Bowling Green family, he said, ‘I’m invested. I’m all in, but I might have to do a Heisman commercial every once in a while.’”
Why George wanted Bowling Green
Eddie George is quite new to the coaching game as he never held any coaching role prior to 2021. Tennessee State — located in the backyard of Nashville where George thrived during his NFL career — approached the former running back about the opportunity four years ago. At first, George was reluctant, but he ultimately had a change of heart which spurred a new career for the Tennessee Titans legend.
“They really pressed on me to coach, but I didn’t want to. I was not interested in coaching,” George said. “But when I really thought about it and meditated on giving back to the game that gave so much to me, all these ideas started flowing through my mind of how I would create a program based on what I’ve been through during the course of being a student-athlete and a professional athlete, and then after the game. I really wanted to create a program that could help young men after their playing days are done, setting them up for long-term success.”
George quickly found out that coaching came naturally to him. He inherited a struggling program that hadn’t seen a winning season since 2017. By year three, George brought Tennessee State to above .500 territory. By year four, he won a share of a conference title and qualified for the FCS Playoffs. That rapid acceleration came to fruition thanks to George’s focuses on the smallest details — one thing he immediately learned to love about the world of coaching.
“My first game, we played against Grambling State right down the road in Canton and we had 17 penalties,” George said. “Most of them were holding. The final game we played in against Montana, we had maybe two. So there was a level of growth there from that perspective and that was just the tip of the iceberg. I love what I do. I love being a coach.”
Photo by Tommy Martino/University of Montana/Getty Images
After leading Tennessee State to a conference title and walking around a celebratory locker room, George was ready to run it back for 2025. Leaving wasn’t on his mind, but a perfect storm of events happened during his trip from Indianapolis to Nashville, returning from the NFL Combine that sparked self discussion during that drive.
“Honestly, I wasn’t looking for another opportunity,” George said. “I was committed to finishing my job at Tennessee State going into the last year of my contract. Given the challenges of the university, it was challenging. (Bowling Green) was a situation that presented itself. I asked God three weeks ago to give me a sign of what’s next. As I’m driving back from Indianapolis from the (NFL) Combine, I’m driving through Bowling Green, KY. I see the sign ‘Bowling Green’, I look down at my phone, and I see a message from Urban Meyer saying, ‘Are you interested in the Bowling Green job?’”
George called various coaches about the opportunity, talked through it with his family, and was sold on the prospect of becoming an FBS head coach at Bowling Green. George already possessed immense Ohio ties as a star running back at Ohio State from 1992-95, which helped draw him back to the state where his football career first ignited.
Long before he hoisted the Heisman Trophy after a stellar 1,927-yard, 24-touchdown season, he was a freshman in 1992 looking for an opportunity. Coincidentally, his first major break transpired on Sept. 12 that year against Bowling Green. George punched in a 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter in Ohio State’s 17-6 win over the Falcons, marking the first of his 44 collegiate touchdowns — the third most in Buckeye history.
“That was the touchdown that started ‘Touchdown Eddie’,” George said. “It was awesome. Flying in here to Ohio and coming back to this region, this part of the country — I forgot how cold it was being in Nashville, but it brought back a rush of memories. The sunsets are different here in Ohio, the people embrace you, and the community is so strong, they really rally around this university. The love here at this university… the aura is really good so I’m glad to be back in this regard.”
How George intends to build Bowling Green
Bowling Green was one win away from participating in the MAC Championship Game last season. The Falcons are fresh off consecutive winning campaigns for the first time since 2014 and 2015, and they ride a 3-year streak of qualifying for bowl eligibility. George recognizes former head coach Scot Loeffler positioned the program in good standing, and watching an unexpected coaching change amidst success is not easy for the roster. However, he is ready to sustain that success and take the leap from good to great.
“My message to them was, ‘We cannot controlled what happened here. It was not your fault. We got this thing done. We’re here. What’s important is how we move forward, how we move forward in a positive way,’” George said. “We’re locked in on the three ‘ships’ — relationship, ownership, and leadership. That’s it.”
Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
George’s first pillar to take that good-to-great leap involves roster construction. High school recruiting and internal development is how the head coach succeeded at Tennessee State. Now he aims to test that method in a new environment, bringing in freshmen from the fertile recruiting ground of Ohio and watching them improve from offseason to offseason.
“Let’s put a fence around Ohio in terms of recruiting. High school still matters,” George said. “I did not build Tennessee State through the transfer portal or through flipping a roster on NIL. I did it through development, hard work, recruiting my son. I had players that came in as freshmen and we developed them into All-Americans. I’ve been developed. I know what it looks like. I’ve been molded by it. That’s who I am, and that’s what we’re gonna do.”
George didn’t completely dismiss utilizing the transfer portal or using NIL to Bowling Green’s advantage, stating he will work with van der Merwe to “build an NIL war chest.” He understands those are necessary tools for roster construction in present-day college football. However, above all, he seeks continuity. George strives to manufacture a brotherhood and strong bond within his rosters, and he believes those qualities will be more effective in carrying Bowling Green to a coveted MAC championship — not just for one year, but on an annual basis.
“I have every aspiration and intention of winning the MAC this year,” George said. “That is the goal. And to continue the success of this program that Coach Loeffler left here — the success, the sustainability. He left it in a great, great condition. Now it’s time for me to go from good to excellent to elite. We’re gonna dig in, we’re gonna get stronger, we’re gonna get faster, we’re gonna find out who we are, and we’re gonna commit to excellence every day.”
George still has a long way to go in learning his personnel, figuring out their strengths, and putting them in the right place in Saturdays and Tuesdays and Wednesdays. But the most important aspect of George’s Falcons program is physicality, and he believes emphasis on that trait will establish a strong foundation.
“This process is where we have to be very patient,” George said. “I don’t know what we’re gonna look like on the day of our first game. But what I do know is that we’re gonna play fast, be physical, and be disciplined. We’ll let the scoreboard take care of itself. The teams that us will know they get played by us. That’s the goal. We will be physical.”
George also addressed the Battle of I-75 rivalry with Toledo, playing into the rivalry while also stating his respect for the nearby program. He understands that is one game to circle on the calendar every year, and that’s one of three goals he laid down at his introductory press conference. The other goals include winning the program’s first MAC championship since 2015, and with the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff offering increased access to MAC teams, George is aiming for the uncharted territory of a national championship.
“The goals as of right now are to win the Battle of I-75, win the MAC, and then go play for a national championship,” George said. “We’ll figure out the habits that are associated with that to accomplish that end goal.”