Tag: Eddie George

All-Pro RB Eddie George gives his take on Chiefs’ three-peat chances

Retired All-Pro RB Eddie George shared his thoughts on the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl three-peat chances w/ @EdEastonJr

This week, Chiefs Wire’s Ed Easton Jr. spoke to retired Pro Bowler and Heisman winner Eddie George.

In his interview with Easton Jr., George discussed his support for The Wuerffel Foundation at the Pickle Bowl: Heisman Edition event at Life Time Pickleball NYC and his thoughts on the Kansas City Chiefs’ chances at a three-peat.

“Danny (Wuerffel) is doing this for his foundation. I know he’s a hell of a pickleball player,” said George. “What a great way to raise money awareness for his great cause, and do it in a fun way.”

Pickle Bowl: Heisman Edition brought together college football legends, including Cam Newton, Tim Tebow, Eric Crouch, Charlie Ward, and Johnny Rodgers, for an action-packed day of pickleball exhibitions, VIP play, and fan engagement.

Pickleball pros Ryan Sherry and Kate Fahey joined them on the court. The Tennessee Titans franchise legend and current head football coach at Tennessee State University weighed in on the Chiefs Super Bowl chances this season.

“They (the Chiefs) look pretty strong. I mean, they’re winning close games. They’re getting better toward the tail end of the season, but there are some other teams that are starting to emerge,” George explained. “Buffalo, you have Detroit, which will be a problem in the NFC. The Eagles, I mean, there will be some teams that can contend. But anytime you have a battle-tested unit with a championship pedigree with your team at the helm.

“You know you better be able to put the team away late in the game. He’ll find a way to win the ball game with two seconds left because you put that ball in his hands. They are great at situational football. They don’t panic under pressure and have the best closer in the game as far as (Patrick) Mahomes.”

The following links provide more information on Pickle Bowl and The Wuerffel Foundation.

Former Titan Eddie George named Big South-OVC Coach of the Year

Former Tennessee Titans running back Eddie George was named the Big South-OVC coach of the year.

Former Tennessee Titans running back Eddie George may have retired from playing, but he isn’t done with football. In 2021, George took over as the head football coach for the Tennessee State Tigers, a member of the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference.

His first two seasons as head coach were both losing seasons, but when the Big South and OVC merged, the Tigers started winning. This year, George led his Tigers to their first nine-win season in a decade, and first place in the conference, sending them to their first playoff appearance since 2013.

The Tigers performance was so impressive in 2024 that George was named the Big South-OVC coach of the year. From HBCUSports.com:

Recognized as the Stats Perform HBCU Team of the Week twice this season, Tennessee State enters the postseason ranked in both national FCS Top 25 polls.

The Tigers scored 40 points in a game four times this season, had a four-game win streak from Sept. 28 to Oct. 19, and did not lose consecutive games all season.

Tennessee State ranks ninth in the country with 7.3 tackles-for-loss, had three defensive touchdowns, recovered 10 fumbles and owns the FCS top kickoff return average (26.79). Tennessee State quarterbacks have thrown the fewest interceptions (7), ranked first in the conference in passing defense (195.8) and pass efficiency defense (116.15), and lost the fewest turnovers (15).

Eddie George played for the Titans from 1996-2003, and was part of the transition from Houston to Nashville. He was the NFL AP Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1996, appeared in four Pro Bowls, and is widely recognized as one of the greatest running backs in NFL history who is still Tennessee’s all-time leading rusher.

Report: Ravens Hall of Famer could be a candidate to be next head coach at Florida Atlantic

Adam Schefter is reporting that Florida Atlantic University is interested in Ray Lewis to become their next head football coach

(This post has been updated with new information.)

Universities around the country have seen the success of Eddie George at Tennessee State and Deion Sanders at Colorado. They are looking to hop on the trend of hiring head coaches who lack experience at the highest level.

Adam Schefter reports that Ravens Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis is a candidate to land the head coaching job at Florida Atlantic University.

Florida Atlantic recently fired head football coach Tom Herman.  The Owls are in last place in the American Athletic Conference standings.

UPDATE: The Palm Beach Post reports that FAU is not planning to interview Lewis, according to a source in the sports department.

FAU was 6-16 during Herman’s two seasons and is 0-6 in the AAC this year. It is on a five-game losing streak.

Herman took the job as FAU was transitioning from Conference USA to the AAC and after the firing of coach Willie Taggart, who had been there three seasons. Chad Lunsford, the former head coach at Georgia Southern, will be the FAU interim coach.

FAU has won three conference championships in school history, including Conference USA in 2017 and 2019 under Lane Kiffin. Since then, FAU has had just one winning season and has endured four consecutive losing seasons.

Lewis, a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Baltimore Ravens, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.

Despite not having prior college coaching experience, he’s a fantastic leader and could be a great hire for a program looking for headlines and wins.

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Titans greats Steve McNair, Eddie George advance in Hall of Fame voting

Former Titans quarterback Steve McNair and running back Eddie George have moved forward in the class of 2025 Hall of Fame voting process.

The Tennessee Titans have two former players who have advanced in the 2025 NFL Hall of Fame voting process: Quarterback Steve McNair and running back Eddie George.

McNair played 11 of his 13 seasons in the NFL as a member of the Titans, although his first two seasons were when the team was still in Houston. He spent his last two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. Over his career, McNair earned MVP honors, three Pro Bowl appearances, and was an AP All-Pro in 2003.

George played eight of his nine seasons with the Titans, although he also joined the team when they were still in Houston. George played his final season with the Ravens. He earned Offensive Rookie of the Year in his first season and joined the Pro Bowl rankings for the next four seasons. He also had MVP and Offensive Player of the Year shares a few times.

Both McNair and George made four post-season appearances, including the Titans’ 1999 Super Bowl loss to the St. Lous Rams.

Neither McNair nor George is on the ballot for the first time. They’re currently in a group of 50, which will be whittled down to 25 next month. Stay tuned to see if McNair and George finally make it to the Hall of Fame.

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Eight former Titans nominated for 2025 HOF class

The nominees for the 2025 Hall of Fame class have been released and there are eight former Tennessee Titans who received a nomination.

The nominations for the NFL’s 2025 Hall of Fame class have been announced and there are eight former Tennessee Titans who could be among those inducted next year.

Delanie Walker, former Titans’ tight end, is one of 16 players on the list who are in their first year of eligibility. The other Titans include quarterback Steve McNair, running back Eddie George, running back Chris Johnson, fullback Lorenzo Neal, wide receiver Derrick Mason, cornerback Samari Rolle and kicker Gary Anderson.

There are 167 modern-era players nominated for the 2025 Hall of Fame class, including 94 offensive players, 56 defensive players, and 17 special teams players.

Around mid-October, the Screening Committee will announce a reduced 50-player list, and the full 50-person Hall of Fame Selection Committee will reduce the list to 25 players. A second vote will trim the number to 15 before a list of 20 nominees are presented to the full Selection Committee.

Those 20 nominees will consist of 15 modern-era players, three Senior Finalists, a Coach’s Finalist, and a Contributor Finalist. There is no set number of people to enshrine each year, but the selection process bylaws state that four to eight players will be inducted.

The committee will meet next year before the Super Bowl to make a final vote on who will be inducted. To be inducted, finalists must receive 80% of the vote.

Christian McCaffrey ended the 11-year Madden cover drought for running backs and joined these 6 RBs

Christian McCaffrey joined a very exclusive club by getting picked for the Madden cover.

As is tradition, getting picked for the annual Madden cover is the best sign an NFL player has become mainstream. That should make San Francisco 49ers Christian McCaffrey’s selection for Madden 25 not the least bit surprising.

What is surprising is that McCaffrey’s running back position hasn’t been featured on the famed video game cover in a long time. In fact, with McCaffrey’s selection, he is the first tailback to be the official Madden athlete since Adrian Peterson and Barry Sanders’ joint selection for Madden NFL 25 in 2014. That is likely a statement on how runners have been de-emphasized in the NFL over the last decade, making McCaffrey’s cover boy look all the more impressive.

In other words, running backs are making their comeback! (Maybe.)

With McCaffrey officially representing Madden now, here are the six other running backs to appear on the worldwide cover in the game’s illustrious, extended history.

1. Madden 2001 — Eddie George, Tennessee Titans

The first Madden on the PlayStation 2 featured George, a four-time Pro Bowler and former First-Team All-Pro for the Tennessee Titans.

2. Madden 2003 — Marshall Faulk, St Louis. Rams

Near the end of “The Greatest Show on Turf” offense in St. Louis, the Rams finally had their rightful poster boy in do-it-all running back Marshall Faulk.

3. Madden 2007 — Shaun Alexander, Seattle Seahawks

The 2005 MVP finally got his virtual flowers with a Madden cover later that summer.

4. Madden 12 — Peyton Hillis, Cleveland Browns

At the height of his bruising phenomenon in Cleveland, Hillis won a fan vote to notch this early 2010s cover.

5. Madden NFL 25 — Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings (Xbox One and PlayStation 4)

In celebration of Madden’s 25th anniversary, the decorated Peterson debuted on the then-next-gen cover.

6. Madden NFL 2000/25 — Barry Sanders, Detroit Lions (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3)

Sanders is the rare NFL star to have technically been featured on two Madden covers. He was in the background of Madden 2000 and then won a fan vote for the 25th-anniversary edition on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions.

Every ‘Madden NFL’ cover star since 2000

We’re looking at all Madden NFL covers from the last two decades.

Editor’s note: This post was updated for 2024.

The Madden series has been around since EA Sports released John Madden Football on MS-DOS in 1988.

For the first decade, Madden himself graced the cover. The Super Bowl-winning coach-turned-fan-favorite-broadcaster-turned-Turducken-evangelizer is also something of a master at building a personal brand. Even though he hadn’t broadcasted a game since 2009, he remained a household name thanks to EA’s best-selling franchise.

After 2000, Mr. Madden finally started to share the screen with NFL superstars. Here’s a look at every player who’s been on a Madden cover. And remember: Patrick Mahomes is among the athletes to show the “Madden Curse” is just a myth.

MORE:

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Titans great Eddie George falls short in bid for Pro Football HOF

Titans great Eddie George once again fell short in his latest bid for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Tennessee Titans great Eddie George was one of the 25 semifinalists for the 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame class, but unfortunately he did not make the cut as one of the 15 finalists.

George was one of four running backs among the 25 semifinalists, but the only one to move on to the next round of voting was Jacksonville Jaguars great, Fred Taylor.

This was the second time George was voted a semifinalist. He has six years of eligibility as a modern-era candidate remaining, so this is unlikely to be his last bid.

Here’s a look at the full list of finalists. The official 2024 class will be revealed during NFL Honors on Feb. 8.

Along with those players, there are also three finalists in the Seniors category — Randy Gradishar, Steve McMichael and Art Powell — and one in the Coach/Contributor category in Buddy Parker.

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Titans great Eddie George a semifinalist for Pro Football Hall of Fame

Titans great Eddie George is a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2024.

For the second time since he’s been eligible, Tennessee Titans great Eddie George is one of 25 modern-era semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2024. George also made the cut as a semifinalist in 2022.

The next step will be to make the group of 15 finalists, and then a final vote by the Hall of Fame’s 50-person selection committee will take place prior to Super Bowl LVIII, with the results announced on the NFL Honors show in February.

After being drafted No. 14 overall by the Houston Oilers in 1996, George played eight seasons with the franchise and become its all-time leading rusher (10,009 rushing yards), a distinction he still holds today.

Along with that, George won Rookie of the Year, made it to four Pro Bowls and was a first-team All-Pro in 2000. The Ohio State product rushed for 1,000 yards in all but one season with the Titans.

George’s 10,441 career rushing yards ranks 28th all time.

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Fred Taylor a Hall of Fame semifinalist for 5th straight year

Fred Taylor is one of 25 semifinalists for the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024. Is this the year he gets in?

Former Jacksonville Jaguars running back Fred Taylor is one of 25 semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024.

Taylor, 47, has now been a semifinalist in five consecutive years, but has never made it to the next round of the voting process. In January, the 15 finalists will be announced and the Class of 2024 will be formally introduced days before the Super Bowl in February.

During his 11 seasons with the Jaguars, Taylor accumulated 11,271 rushing yards, 2,361 receiving yards, and 70 total touchdowns. He later finished his career with two seasons as a member of the New England Patriots.

Taylor’s 11,695 career rushing yards are 17th most in NFL history behind 14 Hall of Famers and a pair of likely future inductees in Frank Gore and Adrian Peterson.

Only two players this year, former Chargers tight end Antonio Gates and former Panthers pass rusher Julius Peppers, are semifinalists in their first year of eligibility. Taylor is one of four running backs on the list, along with Tiki Barber, Eddie George, and Ricky Watters.

Also among the semifinalists is Torry Holt, who played 10 seasons with the St. Louis Rams before finishing his career with one year in Jacksonville. Holt has now been a semifinalist in 10 straight years and has been a finalist in each of the last four years.

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