Of all the surprising candidates to emerge during the Bears‘ coaching search, this might be the most surprising: Former NFL star running back Eddie George will interview for the job Sunday, Fox reported.
George, 51, has been the head coach at Tennessee State since 2021. It is his only full-time coaching position since retiring at the end of the 2004 season after a stellar nine-year career. Playing mostly for the Oilers/Titans, George topped 1,000 yards seven times, earned four Pro Bowl selections and was named All-Pro once.
He has a 24-22 record as a college coach and is coming off his best season yet at 9-4.
George’s connection to the Bears is that he spent two weeks with them during Organized Team Activities in May 2023 as part of the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship along with former University of Miami coach Randy Shannon.
George would push the list of known candidates to 21, though it’s unclear whether the Bears actually will get interviews with everyone in whom they’re interested. If he interviews in person, the team will satisfy the Rooney Rule requirement of hosting two minority candidates from outside the organization for interviews.