Nick Eason
It’s hard to not like Nick Eason. He has the smile. He has the energy. He has the charisma. He has the NFL experience. He has three seasons of college experience under his belt now too.
In an age where some guys want to get out of college football for the NFL, Eason has veered in the opposite direction and seems to fit in quite nicely.
Eason’s first season with the Tigers was 2022, and I didn’t consider that a success. I was the first to admit I had my doubts about the motors of a few guys who Eason inherited with that group, so I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, I just wasn’t willing to be impressed.
Year 2 was a different story. Statistics might not tell the tale, but for my money, I will choose the performance we got from the guys last season over the previous campaign every day of the week and twice on Sunday. I think that group’s mentality was a much better match for Eason’s personality and they responded better and played better, even if they weren’t the ‘prototypes’ the NFL wants in their defensive linemen.
Swinney recognized Eason’s progress and promoted him to assistant head coach this offseason. Is defensive coordinator in Eason’s future? That’s hard to gauge, but we’ve learned it isn’t necessarily an absolute must for a guy to get a shot as a head coach somewhere.
Next: CJ Spiller