Georgia Southern gets a new start with Tyson Summers

STATESBORO -- It was less than nine years ago that Tyson Summers was a young assistant coach on the road recruiting when he learned he was a young unemployed assistant coach.

At the time, Summers was a defensive backs coach at Georgia Southern in his first full-time college coaching job after serving as a graduate assistant at Troy and Georgia. The Eagles' head coach was Brian VanGorder, who resigned to take a job as the linebackers coach with the Atlanta Falcons.

But Summers returned to Statesboro on Saturday afternoon in a much different role: head coach of the Eagles.

Summers' hiring was announced at the beginning of the week, and his formal introduction to fans and the media was delayed until after Georgia Southern's 58-27 win over Bowling Green in the GoDaddy Bowl.

The program's sixth head coach since 2001 when Paul Johnson left for Navy, the 35-year-old Summers replaces Willie Fritz, who left for Tulane after only two seasons with the Eagles. Fritz was 17-9 in his two seasons, winning the Sun Belt Conference championship last year and securing the program's first ever bowl bid this year.

"This is my dream job," Summers said. "I can't say enough about my excitement and enthusiasm about this day. I haven't interviewed for a head coaching job and wasn't looking, but when I heard about this opening, I had to pursue it.

"This is one of the proudest programs in the country. I am humbled and honored. The number of people who have called and texted me there must have been at least 150 high school coaches."

A Tifton native, Summers joins Georgia Southern after leaving Colorado State, where he was first-year head coach Mike Bobo's defensive coordinator. The Rams (7-4) will play Nevada in the Arizona Bowl on Tuesday, but Summers will be busy in Statesboro assembling a staff and updating himself on Eagles recruits.

Prior to being Colorado State's defensive coordinator, Summers was George O'Leary's defensive coordinator at Central Florida and two years ago, helped the Golden Knights to a 12-1 season and a 52-42 win over Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl. Central finished that season ranked 10th in the nation.

Prior to going to Central Florida, Summers was an assistant at UAB under Macon native Neil Callaway.

Athletics director Tom Kleinlein said Summers will be paid "a competitive salary ... in the neighborhood of $500,000 that will also include incentives." Summers' contract, Kleinlein said, will be made public in about "four or five days."

Summers' father Andy was a star at Lanier and played at Florida. He was an assistant coach at Tift County when he was killed in a car wreck when Tyson was 3 years old.

"Football coaches affected every part of my life from the time I was 2 or 3," Summers said, noting most of them had a connection to Georgia Southern.

While he has been a defensive coach his entire career, Summers said Georgia's Southern's offensive identity will remain.

"For those of you wanting to ask, we are going to look (offensively) the way we look now," Summers said. "It'll be the gun option ... the gun, triple-option. What we've got to do is be able to throw the ball. Defensively, we'll be a four (man)-down team."

The Summers file

Personal

Hometown: Tifton.

Alma Mater: Presbyterian (2002)

Education: BA Political Science

Family:  wife Beth; sons, Jake, Walker and Anderson

Coaching Experience

2015: Colorado State (defensive coordinator/safeties)

2014: Central Florida (defensive coordinator/linebackers)

2012-13: Central Florida (linebackers)

UAB: Alabama-Birmingham (safeties/co-special teams coordinator)

2007-10: UAB (linebackers)

2006: Georgia Southern (safeties)

2005: Georgia (graduate assistant)

2004: Troy (graduate assistant)

2003: Presbyterian (defensive backs)

2002: Tift County High School (defensive backs)

This story was originally published December 26, 2015 at 7:58 PM with the headline "Georgia Southern gets a new start with Tyson Summers ."