It’s rare for an NFL head coaching interview to come as a complete surprise. But the Chicago Bears did it.
According to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports, the Bears will interview Eddie George for their vacant head coaching job on Sunday. George, a Heisman Trophy winner who had more than 10,000 rushing yards in his NFL career and has coached at Tennessee State University, was not listed as a candidate for any of the vacant NFL jobs.
George is just 24-22 as Tennessee State’s head coach, but has had a good season. He finished runner-up for the Eddie Robinson FCS Coach of the Year award after leading his team to a 9-4 record. The Tigers finished tied for their conference championship at four points and made the FCS playoffs for the second time since 1999.
George is well known among football fans. He won a Heisman Trophy in 1995 at Ohio State, was a first-round pick of the Houston Oilers and had seven 1,000-yard seasons for the Oilers and then the Tennessee Titans after the franchise moved. He spent the final season of his career with the Dallas Cowboys. He had no coaching experience when Tennessee State hired him as head coach in 2021.
The Bears have had a vacancy since firing Matt Eberflus after a tough Thanksgiving loss to the Detroit Lions. The Bears went 5-12 but have some intriguing players, including Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Chicago has interviewed several candidates, most notably Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and former Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy. Nearly two weeks into the offseason, they had a surprising new name on their roster.