CHICAGO — Eddie George had no plans to coach football.

The long hours have put off the former Tennessee Titans All-Pro running back. He loved having time for his golf game. He built his wealth management business and acted in films, television and plays, including playing the role of Billy Flynn in Chicago on Broadway.

“I’m trying to win a HEGOT,” said George. “It’s Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony, but Heisman is front and center.”

The 1995 Heisman Trophy winner at Ohio State University laughed after speaking like a pro from his seat in a conference room at Halas Hall.

George was taking a breather during a hectic three-week stint with the Chicago Bears as part of the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship, a program designed to give minority coaches NFL-level experience. Randy Shannon, Florida State co-defensive coordinator and linebacker coach, former Miami head coach, is also present at the team activities organized by the Bears.

Nine days into his tenure, George was all over the Bears compound, not only attending football meetings and drills, but also consulting with support staff and even seeking the thoughts of Kevin Warren, the President and CEO of the Bears. George’s goal is to gather strategies from across the organization to bring back to Tennessee State, where he is entering his third year as head coach.

“Every day I try to find one thing, just one thing, to take home because it’s a lot,” George told the Tribune. “Three weeks isn’t enough time to really take it all in, so I’m trying to give myself the grace to say, ‘Okay, enjoy the experience and just try to learn something new every day and also be a resource for that to be youth.’ Men who are here and have questions.’ ”

When Bears running backs coach David Walker urged George to apply, noting that the Bears wanted to do something specifically for the head coaches, George didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to learn.

A little over two years ago, Tennessee State offered George a chance to become a head coach. In the NFL, George rushed for 10,441 yards for nine seasons, started 130 straight games and reached four Pro Bowls. But he had no coaching experience.

Intrigued by being the CEO of a football program, George wondered if he would regret turning down Tennessee State’s offer. He knew he would. And he believed in the experiences that brought him to this point. He was familiar with football from his playing career, leadership skills from fathering two sons, listening as an actor, and planning from his business ventures.

“So all of that prepared me for this moment,” he said.

George’s Tennessee State teams have won 9-13 in their first two seasons. His third season begins with a trip to Notre Dame, the first time the Irish have faced an HBCU team, and a game that reportedly comes with a $1 million payday for Tennessee State.

As George prepares for his third year, the OTAs provided a good time to join the Bears. The Tennessee State players will not be at the facility until the start of summer school and conditioning in early June. He still holds staff meetings between Bears training sessions and meetings at 1:30 p.m. each day.

George said he starts his day at 5:30 a.m. with a workout before meeting up with various people at Halas Hall. He attends special teams meetings because he believes in a great special teams game.

Of course, he’s drawn to the offensive encounters centered around the Bears’ running game, which he says set a franchise-record 3,014 rushing yards in 2022 under new offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. George takes note of what they teach, emphasize and name.

As George made the transition from actor-businessman to coach, his biggest learning curve was dealing with people – understanding who he wanted and didn’t want in his program, trying to get them involved, and articulating his vision properly, to inspire them.

Fellowship with the Bears gives him the opportunity to meet various leaders, including coach Matt Eberflus.

“Very cool and calm,” George said of Eberflus. “I love his approach. I love that he’s a no-nonsense guy. He knows what he wants. I’ve never heard him swear at anyone. He talks to you like a man. And his staff was great too.”

Eberflus said George consults with staff responsible for nutrition, strength and conditioning, and game management, among other things.

And George meets with Warren to discuss how he plans to build an organization that can sustain a championship culture over the long term. George is fascinated with how to get everything right in a program.

“How you pay attention to details because players can feel it and feel it,” George said. “If you cut corners on any aspect of this building, they will see that and cut corners. So I look at everything and I want to know everything, down to how they fold the towels and get your laundry back to you on time.

“All the things that you don’t necessarily think are important are really important. Everyone is watching. And how do you hold people accountable for that?”

The scholarship is named after former San Francisco 49ers coach Bill Walsh, who started an internship program for minority coaches at his training camp in 1987. The league eventually adopted the stipend for all teams. Mike Tomlin, Lovie Smith and Marvin Lewis are among the coaches who have survived.

The Bears have enrolled several former players in the program, including Nathan Vasher, Roosevelt Williams and Henry Burris. They will hire more coaches as part of the training camp program.

George and Shannon are particularly prominent additions to OTAs this year, and their presence also benefits the Bears.

“We definitely rely on these people because they have the information,” Eberflus said. “Really, our boys have received a lot of information from (George) and are constantly asking him questions. So it was pretty cool to have him with us.”

Eberflus let George speak in front of the players.

George spoke about the rare opportunities they have in the NFL and the things they can do to keep them going, including not getting too comfortable. He spoke about his four pillars: physical, mental, spiritual and social well-being. And he advised them to prepare for the post-football world, starting with the way they behave as players.

He began to understand the latter point in his final years as a gamer, when he founded a landscape architecture company before earning his MBA from Northwestern.

“Football isn’t the be-all and end-all. It’s a path to your goal,” said George. “You’re only here for a limited amount of time. It ends. You have more life behind you than in your football life.

“But the years you have as a footballer, especially in an organization like this, if you do well here – not just on the football field but in terms of character, integrity and who you are – can stick with you for a lifetime .” ”

©2023 Chicago Tribune. Visit chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Nick WagonerESPN staff writerMay 17, 2023 6:00 am ET6 minutes reading

Why the Eagles aren’t the favorite in the NFC

Dan Graziano explains why the 49ers are the betting favorite over the 49ers.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — After another turbulent offseason filled with the usual staples like quarterback woes and injury updates, the San Francisco 49ers finally return to the field Monday for the NFL’s May bid, the one closest to actual training.

And while the answers to many of their remaining questions won’t be available for months, the Niners can start gathering more information before training camp begins in late July.

With that in mind, here’s a look at some of the most pressing issues facing the 49ers in opening organized team activities.

Who is in the middle?

No serious list of the 49ers’ problems can begin without discussing the quarterback. They believe that in Brock Purdy they have their quarterback for the short and long term, but they won’t have him for OTAs as he continues to recover from ulnar collateral ligament surgery in his right (throwing) elbow. Purdy appears to be on the right track and is expected to begin a throwing program in early June that will give the Niners a better idea of ​​the timeline for their return.

The Niners now have three signalers – Trey Lance, Sam Darnold and Brandon Allen – under contract. Coach Kyle Shanahan has said that Lance and Darnold will get first-team substitutes in the offseason program. That’s not necessarily indicative of a pecking order, but the 49ers want to create as much competition as possible between this duo rather than just reinstate Lance as a starter while Purdy recovers.

“We’re coming to training camp,” Shanahan said. “Hopefully we’ll get Brock back soon… You never know how much we’ll end up doing in the OTA sessions, but it’s been good to have two guys out there throwing.”

This offseason is crucial for Trey Lance, especially with suspected starting quarterback Brock Purdy out for OTAs Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire

This is a particularly important off-season for Lance, who has been fully healed of the fractured right ankle he sustained in Week 2 last season and is even further away from the broken bone in his right index finger that slowed his development as a rookie . Despite ongoing trade speculation, general manager John Lynch has stated that he believes Lance will be a 49er in 2023. If that’s the case, it’s up to Lance to determine what his role will be while Darnold adjusts to a new offense.

“Trey knows exactly what the situation is,” Lynch said. “His mindset is all about competition and I think that’s exactly what his mindset should be. We’re thrilled with the position he’s put himself in with the work he’s put in this offseason to No. 1 get healthy, No. 2 get better over some things he was dying to improve on … We are thrilled with Trey’s ability to apply for a job.”

When does Nick Bosa get his big payday?

As usual, Bosa has spent his off-season in Florida training with his brother Joey. That’s nothing to worry about as this has been Bosa’s MO for years. However, Bosa is the next candidate for a market-defining contract extension for a defender.

The Niners and Bosa have said throughout that they will be patient when it comes to closing a deal. Recent precedent would indicate that there is not much to worry about. In recent years, the Niners worked their way through their offseason business before turning their attention to big-money renewal. And all of that — tight end George Kittle, linebacker Fred Warner, and receiver Deebo Samuel — were completed either right before training camp or shortly after it opened.

A deal for Bosa is expected to materialize in the same window as the others, if not a little sooner.

“I’ve said many times that this is a priority for this offseason,” Lynch said. “History shows that we have a really good track record of doing and making this happen. I look forward to working on it when the time comes.”

Will there be more squad changes?

Earlier this offseason, the 49ers implemented simple contract reshuffles at cornerbacks Charvarius Ward and Warner to provide the necessary salary cap headroom for entry into free agency. Then, just before the NFL draft, they made another game with running back Christian McCaffrey, opening up $8.576 million in additional space. The move prompted some to question whether they were preparing to move for another veteran in an emergency situation.

According to Lynch, the primary reason for the move was to make room for the team’s rookie class signing, but he also kept an option open to look around.

“It just gives us some space,” Lynch said. “We will see. We will never stop looking for players who can help and it’s just that a lot of spots are filled and where they aren’t we will fill them up when needed.”

The Niners have a full 90-man roster going into the OTAs but will likely create even more space as they lengthen Bosa, meaning they have some flexibility in adding experienced offensive line help, want to look at Edge Rusher or elsewhere. Even when nothing is imminent, OTAs offer Shanahan and Lynch an opportunity to assess what they have and act accordingly when they feel more is needed.

What will the offensive line look like?

The 49ers are returning four of their five starting offensive players from last season but must replace powerful right tackle Mike McGlinchey, who signed a five-year, $87.5 million deal with the Denver Broncos in March. After refusing to invest free-agent money or significant draft resources in the position, they made it clear they believe McGlinchey’s replacement in the form of swing tackle Colton McKivitz is already on the roster.

McKivitz has only started five games since the Niners drafted him in the fifth round in 2020, but they believed in him enough to sign him on a two-year, $4.56 million extension this offseason.

“You can win with Colton,” Shanahan said. “He’s been here a while. When he played, we won games with him… I understand not everyone else knows that much about them because they haven’t seen them, but I mean that’s what we wanted to do.” I’m hoping to create a draft in hoping to find depth and find some competition, but to go into that draft thinking you’re going to find someone starting over from someone like Colton or as good as Colton can and was would be very unusual . “

The Niners’ hope is that McKivitz can follow the path of center Jake Brendel, a relatively unknown player who took the starting center job in 2022 despite much outside consternation and played well enough to earn a four-year, $16.5million contract in March to receive US dollars.

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