LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears interviewed Tennessee State coach Eddie George, the Heisman Trophy-winning former NFL running back, for their head coach vacancy Sunday.

The 51-year-old George is 24-22 in four seasons at Tennessee State and is coming off leading the Tigers to a tie for first place in the OVC–Big South Football Association and a postseason berth. He was also voted the Big South-OVC coach of the year.

George is the 17th confirmed interview for the Bears, who are doing an extensive search to replace Matt Eberflus who was fired after 12 games and replaced by Thomas Brown on an interim basis.

George joins Brown, Joe Brady, Pete Carroll, Brian Flores, Aaron Glenn, Ben Johnson, Mike Kafka, Mike McCarthy, Todd Monken, Drew Petzing, Ron Rivera, David Shaw, Arthur Smith, Adam Stenavich, Mike Vrabel and Anthony Weaver as candidates to speak to the Bears about the head coaching job.

George, who won the Heisman Trophy in 1995 as college football’s top player, was inducted into the College Hall of Fame in 2011 after an outstanding career at Ohio State.

He was the 14th overall pick in the 1996 draft by the then-Houston Oilers and went on to set several franchise records for the Tennessee Titans, including rushing for 10,009 yards over eight seasons. George was the 1996 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year and was selected an All-Pro in 2000. He made four consecutive Pro Bowls from 1997 to 2000 before wrapping up his career with one season in Dallas in 2004.

George was hired by Tennessee State in 2021 and spent time with Chicago during the 2023 offseason as part of the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship.

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