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 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, was inducted into the College Football 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.

JETS TALK TO WHITT

The New York Jets interviewed Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. for their head coach vacancy.

Whitt is in his first season leading the defense for the Commanders, who forced five turnovers in their stunning 45-31 win over the Detroit Lions on Saturday night to advance to the NFC championship for the first time in 33 years.

Whitt is the 16th coaching candidate to meet with the Jets, who have also conducted 15 interviews for their general manager job.

Whitt, 46, joins Brian Flores, Aaron Glenn, Jeff Hafley, Vance Joseph, Mike Locksley, Josh McCown, Matt Nagy, Ron Rivera, Darren Rizzi, Rex Ryan, Bobby Slowik, Arthur Smith, Steve Spagnuolo, Jeff Ulbrich and Mike Vrabel who have interviewed for the job.

Vrabel has since been hired by New England as its head coach. Ulbrich, the Jets’ interim head coach for 12 games after Robert Saleh was fired, was hired by Atlanta as its defensive coordinator.

Whitt previously worked with Commanders coach Dan Quinn in Atlanta in 2020 as the pass game coordinator and secondary coach before going to Dallas and serving in the same role and rejoining Quinn, who was the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator. Quinn hired Whitt in Washington after he got the Commanders’ head coaching job.

The former Auburn wide receiver got his coaching career started at the college level with stops at Auburn, The Citadel and Louisville before getting his first NFL job with Atlanta as the assistant defensive backs coach in 2007 under Bobby Petrino. He later had stints with Green Bay and Cleveland before going back to Atlanta.

COMMANDERS’ COSMI OUT

Commanders starting right guard Sam Cosmi has a torn ACL and is out for the remainder of the playoffs.

Coach Quinn revealed the “unfortunate news” Sunday after Cosmi injured his right knee in the Commanders’ victory at Detroit. Cosmi had a large brace on the leg on the sideline after leaving the game.

“That’s a big deal, the ballplayer and the man,” Quinn said of losing Cosmi.

Trent Scott replaced Cosmi at right guard against the Lions. It’s unclear what the plan is moving forward.

Cosmi is one of the organization’s longest-tenured players and was a stabilizing force on the offensive line in the first season of a new regime when general manager Adam Peters turned over more than half of the roster. He signed a four-year, $74 million contract with $45 million guaranteed before the season started.

The line in front of rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels has been much-improved from going 4-13 in 2023 in Ron Rivera’s fourth and final season in charge.

Cosmi was a second-round pick out of Texas in 2021.