Dan Enos Named Central Michigan Football Coach

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Central Michigan Director of Athletics Dave Heeke has named Dan Enos as the university’s head football coach.

“We needed a person who will have a vision for a program that centers on the full development of student-athletes: academically, athletically and socially,” Heeke said. “We needed a person with a clear vision and understanding of how to further develop our championship caliber program for sustained success. Dan will do that.”

Enos is a veteran of nine bowl games as both a player and a coach, and he has spent nine seasons as an assistant coach at the Bowl Subdivision level. Enos has 15 years of experience coaching offensive skill positions, including five years as an offensive coordinator.

“It is a privilege and an honor to be the head football coach here,” Enos said. “My family and I are very excited about becoming part of the Central Michigan University family and the Mount Pleasant community. I’m looking forward to carrying on the proud tradition of CMU football into the future.”

Enos recently completed his fourth season on Mark Dantonio’s staff at Michigan State. He was the Spartans’ running backs coach each of the past three seasons after coaching the quarterbacks in 2006.

The Spartans’ backfield featured a pair of true freshmen in 2009, as Larry Caper and Edwin Baker combined to rush for 895 yards and seven touchdowns. Caper was named to the Big Ten All-Freshmen Teams by ESPN.com and Sporting News.

In 2008, Enos worked directly with one of the nation’s top running backs: Javon Ringer. Ringer led the nation in carries (390), scoring (132 points) and touchdowns (22) and ranked fourth in rushing (125.9 ypg) en route to being named a consensus first-team All-American. Ringer was the first Spartan running back to earn All-America honors since Lorenzo White in 1987. The consensus All-Big Ten First-Team selection rushed for 1,637 yards, the second-highest single-season total in school history.

In his first season coaching the Michigan State running backs, Enos mentored one of the top backfields in the Big Ten in Ringer and Jehuu Caulcrick. Michigan State ranked third in the Big Ten and No. 25 in the NCAA in rushing offense, averaging 198.2 yards a game, an improvement of 69 yards per game over 2006. Ringer, a second-team All-Big Ten pick, and Caulcrick, an honorable mention selection, combined to rush for 2,319 yards and 27 touchdowns in 2007. Ringer led the Spartans in rushing for the third straight season with 1,447 yards, the sixth-best single-season total in MSU history, while Caulcrick set a school record with 21 rushing touchdowns.

Enos began his tenure at Michigan State in 2006 coaching the Spartans’ quarterbacks. He worked directly with Drew Stanton, who earned team MVP honors after accounting for 2,252 total yards and 17 touchdowns as a senior. Stanton, who was selected by the Detroit Lions in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft, finished his career ranked among MSU’s all-time leaders in completion percentage (first at .642), pass completions (second at 543), pass attempts (second at 846), passing yards (second at 6,524), total offense (second at 8,036 yards), 200-yard passing games (second at 18), pass efficiency rating (third at 138.7) and touchdown passes (fifth at 42).

Enos spent the 2004 and 2005 seasons as the quarterbacks coach on Dantonio’s staff at Cincinnati.

In 2005, his pupil Dustin Grutza became the first freshman quarterback to start a Cincinnati season opener (vs. Eastern Michigan) since World War II. Grutza, a redshirt freshman, finished fourth in the Big East Conference in total offense, averaging 165.0 yards per game.

In 2004, Enos helped hone the talents of Gino Guidugli, who closed out his career as Cincinnati’s all-time passing leader with 11,222 yards. As a senior, Guidugli completed 210-of-342 throws (.614) for 2,633 yards and a school-record 26 touchdowns while leading the Bearcats to a 7-5 record, including a 32-14 victory over Marshall in the Fort Worth Bowl. Guidugli ranked fifth in Conference USA and No. 15 in the NCAA in passing efficiency with his 146.5 rating.

Enos spent the 2003 season as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under Craig Bohl at NCAA Division II North Dakota State, where he designed an offensive attack that averaged 30.1 points per game en route to an 8-3 record. Tony Stauss hit 220-of-325 passes (.677) for 2,134 yards and 15 touchdowns. His 2,134 passing yards represented the second-highest single-season total in Bison history.

Prior to his appointment at North Dakota State, he worked for three years as the quarterbacks coach at Western Michigan (2000-02) under Gary Darnell. In 2002, the Broncos finished fifth in the Mid-American Conference and No. 30 nationally in passing offense, averaging 256.1 yards per game. In 2001, Western Michigan ranked third in the MAC and No. 30 in the NCAA in passing offense (257.8 ypg). In 2000, the Broncos averaged 400.6 total yards and 29.9 points per game while posting a 9-3 record and winning the MAC West Division crown. Quarterback Jeff Welsh ranked fourth in the league in passing (211.4 ypg) and total offense (212.8 ypg).

In 1999, Enos served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Missouri State under Randy Ball. The Bears ranked among the NCAA Division I-AA leaders in passing offense (No. 22 at 258.8 ypg), scoring offense (No. 23 at 33.9 ppg) and total offense (No. 30 at 417.8 ypg). Quarterback Jay Rodgers finished among the national leaders in passing efficiency (No. 9 with a 150.1 rating) and total offense (No. 20 at 251.6 ypg), and he set school single-season records for completion percentage (.632), passing yards (2,741), touchdown passes (24) and total yards (2,768). Rodgers had three 300-yard passing games in 1999, including 395 yards versus Southern Illinois - the second-best single-game total in Bear history.

His full-time coaching credits also include stops at Southern Illinois (quarterbacks and wide receivers, 1997-98), Northern Michigan (offensive coordinator/backfield, 1996) and Lakeland College (offensive coordinator/ quarterbacks and wide receivers, 1994-95). He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant for George Perles at Michigan State (1991-93).

Enos was a four-year letterman (1987-90) and two-year starter (1989-90) at quarterback at Michigan State, compiling a 16-7-1 record (.688) as a starter. He led the Spartans to back-to-back bowl victories: a 33-13 win over Hawaii in the 1989 Aloha Bowl and a 17-16 win over Southern California in the 1990 John Hancock Bowl. As a senior, Enos threw for 1,677 yards and four touchdowns while helping the Spartans earn a share of the 1990 Big Ten championship. Enos still ranks among Michigan State’s all-time top 10 in pass attempts (No. 10 at 478), pass completions (No. 10 at 297), completion percentage (No. 3 at .621), passing yards (No. 10 at 3,837) and total yards (No. 8 at 4,301).

Enos earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Michigan State in 1991 and received a master’s degree in sports administration in 2006. A native of Dearborn, Mich., Enos earned all-state honors as a senior for Coach Jack Bridges at Edsel Ford High School. He accounted for 5,743 total yards and 46 touchdowns during his prep career.