Well, according to the Blade, the deal is done. Eddie George will be the next coach of the Falcons.
This is a wow. It was reported over the weekend by Pete Thamel that George had been interviewed and it was a bombshell announcement. And a bombshell hire that will get attention around college football.
According to the Blade, the other interviewees were UMass offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian, and Oklahoma State quarterbacks coach Kevin Johns. Nick Monroe, the former BG assistant, apparently did not make the cut. For my money, Bajakian and Johns were pretty meh and remember, when you get a football coach and they are meh, you are stuck with them for years. It was a by-product of when we were doing the hiring...but it's a huge decision. I would rather have gone for an interim in that case.
And there's no guarantee that George--or anyone--succeeds. But it brings some energy and he has four more years of head coaching experience than the other two guys.
Tennesee State is an HBCU college. They have had success, but when George came in they were on a downswing. George had three years around .500, and then the Tigers broke through last year, going 9-4 and 6-2, conference co-champs, FCS playoff berth, he was Coach of the Year and a nominee for the Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year.
Two things have to happen immediately. He needs to get a staff together and he needs to talk to players and see if he can keep them in the fold. I think he might have a better shot at that than most.
More to come.
Great hire! Like the suggestion of Mike Tressel due to his connection to the OSU run that all the Ohio recruits' parents saw, Eddie George just by name is going to do great winning over parents to convince recruits to sign with BG. He turned around a terrible TSU program quickly so he can obviously coach. I looked briefly at some TSU highlights, the offense was much more wide open than I would have expected.
ReplyDeleteI have to take one gripe here though. Mike Bajakian would have also been a great hire. He's not a "meh" by any means. Can't say the same about Johns though.
9/4/27 - could be a fun day! I think this is a great hire on who he is, what he has done and what he’s capable of doing for BG!
ReplyDeleteA splashy hire! He'll have the attention of high school football parents from Toledo to Ironton for sure!
ReplyDeleteThe intrigue on Mike Jacobs is interesting:
-- On Feb. 16, the Blade profiled him. (Quite a coincidence! If it was!)
-- On Feb. 28, Loeffler resigns.
_- Hours later, a website says Jacobs is a candidate for the opening.
-- On March 6, Mercer announces a contract extension for Jacobs.
-- The next day, van der Merwe interviews three finalists, and Jacobs isn't one of them.
So: What was all that? I wonder if van der Merwe let it be known that he was pretty focused on George, giving Jacobs a chance to sign an extension and keep his head high.
Either of the other finalists might be the next Urban Meyer, but I wonder if they are just happy to be named as finalists in the media.
Thoughts?
https://www.toledoblade.com/sports/college/2025/02/16/sunday-chat-with-maumee-graduate-and-mercer-coach-mike-jacobs/stories/20250215023
my guess is that Jacob's agent got the website to run the story in order to force Mercer to extend him.
ReplyDeleteYes, that could well be. Perhaps he was a candidate in the same way that a newspaper is a Pulitzer Prize nominee. when they nominate themselves. (Anyone can.)
DeleteA lot of games are played, especially by the agents. Note that none of the initial names "heard" to be involved made the final interview.
ReplyDelete