Eddie George talks comfort, lack of ‘second chances’ for black coaches

In 2025, Eddie George made history, becoming the fourth former HBCU coach to immediately get an opportunity to coach an FBS program. George departed Tennessee State, where he had been the coach for 4 seasons, to become the head coach of Bowling Green University. He joined Deion Sanders, Willie Jeffries, and former Alcorn State head coach J. Hopson as the only HBCU coaches to make that jump.

In a recent USA Today piece written by Brent Schrotenboer, George speaks about what it took to make the jump from the FCS to the FBS, and the tough time that some coaches have moving up the ladder.

“It’s hard for guys to go up the ladder because there’s a lot of red tape at times. There’s politics being played at times and you see coaches stay at a certain position for 20 or 30 years without elevating, and that can be frustrating. So there’s one way, and another way is, ‘Hey, you know what?  Our résumé speaks for itself.’”

In the piece, he says that his HBCU experience equipped him for the challenges that could come with becoming the leader of an FBS program.

“Coming from an HBCU, I can definitely say that you’re well equipped to take on any problem. Because it’s 10 times harder because of the lack of resources.”

But in the piece, George says that he notices that the opportunity is less racialized and more of who someone is comfortable with. He also spoke about navigating the politics of the coaching ranks to advance.

“It’s not necessarily a race thing,” George said. “It’s more of a comfort thing: ‘This is who I trust in this position.’ My first (athletic director) was Black (at Tennessee State). The next AD I worked for is South African (Derek van der Merwe at BGSU), but he’s White. And it came down to him really looking beyond the resume and looking at the coach, the person and getting to know me to hire me at Bowling Green State.”

But even still, he acknowledges that Black coaches aren’t given the leeway of their counterparts.

“African-American coaches aren’t afforded (second chances), so the pressure really is ‘I’ve got to be damn near perfect to get another opportunity, if this one doesn’t go well,’” George said. “It’s a longer runway for some coaches than for others.”

In George’s first season with Bowling Green, the team went 4-8 overall and 2-6 in conference. As he looks to retool in his second year with the program, he looks to have a resurgence similar to his time at Tennessee State, where his team went 5-6 in his first season and 4-7 in the second season, before going 6-5 in 2023, and ultimately 9-4 in 2024, making the NCAA FCS playoffs after winning a share of the OVC-Big South Championship.