Georgia Southern names Summers as new head coach

Published 10:04 pm Sunday, December 20, 2015

Calling it “one of the most exciting moments” in his life, former Georgia Southern assistant coach and Tifton native Tyson Summers was announced as the Eagles’ next head football coach Sunday.

Summers, who was an assistant with the Eagles in 2006, will be officially introduced at a Saturday press conference in Statesboro. He accepted the job Sunday to replace Willie Fritz, who departed for the Tulane job Dec. 11. Interim coach Dell McGee is leading Georgia Southern in Wednesday’s GoDaddy Bowl against Bowling Green in Mobile, Alabama 

“Besides the day I married my wife and the days my children were born, this is right up there as one of the most exciting moments in my life,” Summers said in a school release after a 15-year coaching career that included seven stops prior to getting his head-coaching opportunity. “This is home for my wife, Beth, and I and we’re excited to be able to get to Statesboro and carry on the proud traditions of both Georgia Southern University and the Eagle football program. I’m looking forward to building off the offense that is in place and continuing to progress with the defense. 

“I’m just exceptionally excited to be a Georgia Southern Eagle!”

He gets that opportunity to be an Eagle once again after serving as the defensive coordinator at Colorado State in 2015, leading the Rams to the 20th best pass defense in the country. That followed a three-year stint at Central Florida, where he spent 2014 as a defensive coordinator as well. The Golden Knights were the best defense in the American Athletic Conference and ranked in the top 10 in the nation in total defense, rush defense, scoring defense and in the red zone.

Prior to UCF, Summers coached at UAB for five years, coaching linebackers before later adding safeties coach and co-special teams coordinator titles. That was preceded by his one season as the safeties coach at Georgia Southern and a year as a graduate assistant at Georgia. He also spent one season as a graduate assistant at Troy, a year at Presbyterian and began his coaching career at Tift County High School in 2002, coaching defensive backs.

“The search committee and myself went through a long process and evaluated a number of candidates and we have decided on Tyson Summers, who is a great fit for us here at Georgia Southern,” athletic director Tom Kleinlein said in the university’s release. “I’m excited about Tyson coming in and leading our program. What we get in Tyson is someone who knows Georgia, someone who was born and raised in Georgia, someone who has recruited Georgia his entire career, and someone who has been a part of a Group of 5 school that has played on New Year’s Day, which is the level we’re aspiring to get to.

“His dad was a high school coach in the state of Georgia. He played for a number of former great Eagles who were his high school coaches and he played at Presbyterian for coaches who coached at Georgia Southern. We’ve gotten someone who is excited be here and is excited to carry on the traditions of Georgia Southern University and is excited to build on where we’re already at in the FBS and take us to new heights.”