Days after his official introduction following a whirlwind hiring process, the eyes of Bowling Green fans and the college football world are locked onto new BGSU football head coach Eddie George as he prepares for his next step in the process of getting settled in his new digs.
In an interview on ‘The Triple Option’ podcast with Urban Meyer, Mark Ingram II and Rob Stone, George mentioned that his next step in the process is to begin to assemble his coaches, and he’s already been busy shaping his inaugural staff at BGSU.
According to Bowling Green’s website, it appears the only assistants from the Scot Loeffler era that are being retained are special teams coordinator and tight ends coach Alex Bayer, defensive pass game coordinator and secondary coach Derrick Jackson, running backs coach Brian White and co-offensive/run game coordinator and offensive line coach Greg Nosal.
The current openings on George’s staff stand are quarterbacks, wide receivers, inside linebackers, outside linebackers, cornerbacks, defensive line and the defensive coordinator position.
At Tennessee State, his staff was chock full of names who have been around football at every level for decades.
Most notably, former Tennessee Titans and St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams head coach Jeff Fisher served as a football analyst on George’s staff since 2021.
Fisher’s son, Brandon, spent the last four seasons as the Tigers’ defensive coordinator, leading TSU to a top-50 scoring defense in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
While the elder Fisher has more on his plate, also serving as the commissioner for Arena Football One, a new arena football league that begins play later this year, Brandon Fisher may be more likely to follow George to the 419 if offered.
Another name that has piqued the interest of fans is Richard McNutt, a 17-year coaching veteran and a former defensive back at Ohio State.
McNutt has had stops at multiple Ohio schools, including Kent State, Toledo, Youngstown State and Ohio State, as well as a stint with the Cleveland Browns.
Everywhere McNutt goes, improvement follows. In 2008, with the Browns organization, they ranked second in the NFL in interceptions. Five years later, in 2013, a season he spent with North Carolina State, they finished third in the Atlantic Coast Conference in pass defense.
This staff helped George turn a lowly Tigers team into the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference champions in 2024, helping him win the conference’s Coach of the Year award.
Across four seasons, he compiled a 24-22 record, capping off his tenure with a 9-4 campaign in 2024 – big steps for a program that averaged just three wins a season in the three seasons before his arrival.
If George truly intends to stick to his words at his introductory press conference and build a fence around Ohio in the world of high school recruiting, McNutt would be a strong recruiter to bring along with him.
Even though his name still carries a lot of weight in the state of Ohio, even nearly 30 years after his final carry as a Buckeye, George will still need a strong group of people with lots of pull to lean on.
He already has strong ties to names like Meyer, who put a good word in with Bowling Green, and Jim Tressel, a college coaching and administrative legend in the state who currently serves as Ohio’s 67th lieutenant governor.
While he’ll have little time to waste before it’s time to begin his recruitment of high schoolers, he’ll also have to take some time (if he hasn’t already) to re-recruit those already rostered by BG and those who have just exited.
With Scot Loeffler’s departure on Feb. 28, a 30-day window opened for any and all Bowling Green football players to enter the transfer portal.
As of March 17, four players have publicly announced their intention to enter the portal: safeties CJ Brown and Tracy Revels, defensive tackle Marcus Moore Jr., who transferred in from the University of Akron in December and quarterback Justin Lamson, who joined the team from Stanford.
Former BG defensive end Chace Davis, who declared for the NFL draft earlier this year, is also in the portal after being given an extra season of eligibility due to the NCAA’s JUCO ruling. He is keeping his name in the draft and continues to prepare for Bowling Green’s pro day on March 24.
After inheriting the program late in the offseason, George has had and will continue to have his work cut out for him as he begins to assemble this program into his perfect image.
