Heisman Winner Eddie George Takes the Helm at BGSU Football

“It’s here. Walk outside, smell the fresh cut grass in late July, early August. You know it’s time for football.”

There’s a new coach in Bowling Green, as the BGSU Falcons football team gears up for the 2025-2026 season. The new head honcho is Eddie George, Heisman Trophy winning Ohio State running back, NFL Rookie of the Year, and four-time Pro Bowl selection.

Fresh off a four-year stint rebuilding Tennessee State University’s storied but struggling Division 1-AA football program into a playoff participant, Coach George has made the jump to Division I-A college football (also known as the FBS) and is raring to take the reins at BGSU.

Fielding questions at the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Kickoff event in Detroit, George cut a confident, yet humble figure. When asked what expectations should be for the Falcons in his first year, he was honest. “I’m not going to put a record on it… I want to focus on what it takes to be a champion – the habits that are associated with it. A daily grind of the work we put in the weight room, on the field, but also the mentality we have to have off the field.” 

His coaching philosophy is expressed in an acronym – drawn from Coach George’s life experiences as a student and athlete – that will be the mantra for him and his team — GUTS.   As he explained in Detroit: 

“G is for Gumption – to have the initiative, courage, one to step out there, to pursue;. 

U is for Understanding – to acquire the knowledge, the wisdom it’s gonna take for you to get there;

T is for Tenacity – you have to have a tenacious spirit to acquire that goal, to overcome, to look at that adversity as an opportunity to grow, to learn;

Sacrifice – I had to sacrifice so much, my parents had to sacrifice so much to get there.”

The message is clear: as long as his players and staff are putting in the work, doing the right things, and carrying themselves with maturity off the field, on-field success will come. 

Coach George is bringing a wave of change with him to Doyt L. Perry Stadium in Bowling Green. Travis Partridge and Brandon Fisher arrive from George’s Tennessee State staff as his offensive and defensive coordinators, respectively, although Partridge will share OC duties with incumbent BGSU offensive line coach, Greg Nosal. Coach George and his staff have also arrived boasting the best recruiting class in the MAC. Because the team’s returning players, per the Falcons’ media guide, contributed just 192 offensive yards and 12 non-kicking points to last season’s output, the newcomers have lot of slack to pick up.  Fortunately, as Coach George pointed out, the Falcons return a “veteran offensive line unit that’s been together” and a have brought in a new veteran quarterback, Drew Pyne, a graduate student who has “been around, has experience, has won some ballgames,” including leading the  vaunted Notre Dame Fighting Irish to an 8-2 record over ten starts in 2022. The Falcons have a mountain to climb to continue their ascent to the top of the MAC, but Coach George clearly believes that he, his staff, and his players are up for the challenge.

But the challenges are not only on the football field. The specter looming over Coach George, his team and conference, and all of college football is the ripples from college athletes’ still unfolding right to profit off their Name, Image and Likeness (NIL), as well as their freedom to transfer schools without losing their ability to play for their new school the next years (commonly referred to the transfer portal).  For his part, as a former player, George supports NIL compensation: “Yes, I do believe in NIL. I think there is a place for it.” But, he was clear that BGSU football players  would very much remain student athletes under his tutelage. “Education still matters, Getting a degree, that’s where it matters…How are they being set up for long term success? You can’t just throw money at them and that’s going to be it.”

He concluded the thought by saying that “again, discipline matters, education matters, fighting through adversity and having answers to go through that matters. That’s why we play the game. That’s the life lessons to the game.”  As a college graduate, an MBA, and an owner of a nine-year NFL career, to boot. Coach George has all the tools to give BGSU fans many reasons to cheer for years to come. 

“It’s here. Walk outside, smell the fresh cut grass in late July, early August. You know it’s time for football.”

There’s a new coach in Bowling Green, as the BGSU Falcons football team gears up for the 2025-2026 season. The new head honcho is Eddie George, Heisman Trophy winning Ohio State running back, NFL Rookie of the Year, and four-time Pro Bowl selection.

Fresh off a four-year stint rebuilding Tennessee State University’s storied but struggling Division 1-AA football program into a playoff participant, Coach George has made the jump to Division I-A college football (also known as the FBS) and is raring to take the reins at BGSU.

Fielding questions at the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Kickoff event in Detroit, George cut a confident, yet humble figure. When asked what expectations should be for the Falcons in his first year, he was honest. “I’m not going to put a record on it… I want to focus on what it takes to be a champion – the habits that are associated with it. A daily grind of the work we put in the weight room, on the field, but also the mentality we have to have off the field.” 

His coaching philosophy is expressed in an acronym – drawn from Coach George’s life experiences as a student and athlete – that will be the mantra for him and his team — GUTS.   As he explained in Detroit: 

“G is for Gumption – to have the initiative, courage, one to step out there, to pursue;. 

U is for Understanding – to acquire the knowledge, the wisdom it’s gonna take for you to get there;

T is for Tenacity – you have to have a tenacious spirit to acquire that goal, to overcome, to look at that adversity as an opportunity to grow, to learn;

Sacrifice – I had to sacrifice so much, my parents had to sacrifice so much to get there.”

The message is clear: as long as his players and staff are putting in the work, doing the right things, and carrying themselves with maturity off the field, on-field success will come. 

Coach George is bringing a wave of change with him to Doyt L. Perry Stadium in Bowling Green. Travis Partridge and Brandon Fisher arrive from George’s Tennessee State staff as his offensive and defensive coordinators, respectively, although Partridge will share OC duties with incumbent BGSU offensive line coach, Greg Nosal. Coach George and his staff have also arrived boasting the best recruiting class in the MAC. Because the team’s returning players, per the Falcons’ media guide, contributed just 192 offensive yards and 12 non-kicking points to last season’s output, the newcomers have lot of slack to pick up.  Fortunately, as Coach George pointed out, the Falcons return a “veteran offensive line unit that’s been together” and a have brought in a new veteran quarterback, Drew Pyne, a graduate student who has “been around, has experience, has won some ballgames,” including leading the  vaunted Notre Dame Fighting Irish to an 8-2 record over ten starts in 2022. The Falcons have a mountain to climb to continue their ascent to the top of the MAC, but Coach George clearly believes that he, his staff, and his players are up for the challenge.

But the challenges are not only on the football field. The specter looming over Coach George, his team and conference, and all of college football is the ripples from college athletes’ still unfolding right to profit off their Name, Image and Likeness (NIL), as well as their freedom to transfer schools without losing their ability to play for their new school the next years (commonly referred to the transfer portal).  For his part, as a former player, George supports NIL compensation: “Yes, I do believe in NIL. I think there is a place for it.” But, he was clear that BGSU football players  would very much remain student athletes under his tutelage. “Education still matters, Getting a degree, that’s where it matters…How are they being set up for long term success? You can’t just throw money at them and that’s going to be it.”

He concluded the thought by saying that “again, discipline matters, education matters, fighting through adversity and having answers to go through that matters. That’s why we play the game. That’s the life lessons to the game.”  As a college graduate, an MBA, and an owner of a nine-year NFL career, to boot. Coach George has all the tools to give BGSU fans many reasons to cheer for years to come.