Eddie George has the on-the-field credentials, name recognition and a prominent profile in the Nashville community where Tennessee State University is located and George is set to become the school's next football coach, barring any last-minute snags.
What George doesn't have is head coaching experience on the gridiron.
George and Tennessee State are working to supersede that lack of experience by targeting a group of veteran coaches from the sport's highest levels to fill out George's potential staff.
Multiple sources tell FootballScoop that former Tennessee Titans and Los Angeles Rams head coach Jeff Fisher is serving in an advisory role to George and Tennessee State to assist with the staff hirings.
The Tigers are working to finalize Brandon Fisher, Jeff's son, as their defensive coordinator for George. Brandon Fisher spent the past season as a defensive analyst on the Auburn staff under former head coach Gus Malzahn and defensive coordinator Kevin Steele.
The younger Fisher also served as Southern Utah's defensive coordinator in 2019.
The father-and-son tandem worked together in the previous decade at both NFL franchises. For the Tennessee Titans, Brandon Fisher was a volunteer assistant on the offensive side of the ball. In Los Angeles, Brandon Fisher worked in the secondary and eventually rose to the position of Rams' secondary coach for the 2016 season, Jeff Fisher's final season in L.A.
TSU is eyeing an even bigger hire on the offensive side of the ball – one with NFL head coaching experience. Multiple sources tell FootballScoop that Hue Jackson, the former Oakland Raiders and Cleveland Browns head coach, is George and the Tigers' top target at offensive coordinator.
The Pro Football Writers of America NFL Coach of the Year in 2015, Jackson is heralded as a keen offensive mind with 20 years' NFL experience in addition to spending more than a decade as an assistant coach at the collegiate level to begin his career.
Per sources with direct knowledge of TSU's plans, George & Co. also are targeting a former NFL star and Pro Football Hall of Famer for a key spot on their defensive staff.
Sources in Nashville told FootballScoop in recent weeks that TSU zeroed its search to lead the program in a new direction on George. Per sources, TSU officials also discussed the impending head coaching post with another former NFL great: ex-Ravens linebacker and Hall of Famer Ray Lewis before ultimately opting to go with George.
Additionally, sources told FootballScoop that TSU President Dr. Glenda Baskin Glover knew George from both living in the Nashville community and also liked Fisher's willingness to be involved to help assemble a staff to overcome any concerns with George's individual lack of coaching experience.
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