Home » Sports » Football »

Enos will be back as head coach next season

By John Manzo on December 2, 2011 9:15 am in Football / 11 comments

 

Head coaching opportunities open up every year in every sport.

But this season the Central Michigan University football team won’t have a vacancy.

“Absolutely, without question,” said CMU Athletics Director Dave Heeke when asked if head coach Dan Enos would be back for a third season. “I just fully support Dan and his vision for the program. We’re in a process. You just can’t look at it as these mini slices in time. We’re in a process of trying to build a program.”

Heeke said this after back-to-back 3-9 seasons, but said he believes the team was competitive all season, despite facing numerous amounts of injuries throughout the season, and he credited Enos for keeping the team focused.

After losing Dan LeFevour, Antonio Brown, Frank Zombo and former head coach Butch Jones in 2009, the team went into rebuilding mode.

“We’ve had three head coaches in six years here and transition is always a challenge,” Heeke said. “Coach Enos and his staff came in at the end of an unbelievable run; the greatest run of football here. Some people may argue that, but looking at it historically, that was one of the great (test) runs we have ever had.”

Critics of the team blame the Enos hire because the team shied away from what worked: a spread offense.

Enos runs a multiple, more pro-style offense, but Heeke doesn’t see that as the reason for losing.

“I think this is way overanalyzed,” Heeke said about the offensive system. “I think you need to play with the players you have. Systems don’t win games, players and their execution and the style of football you play ultimately continues to win games.”

Next season will be crucial for the program, but will another losing season cost Enos his job?

“I don’t like to look at hypothetical situations because I don’t think that’s healthy,” Heeke said. “I try to look at what we’re doing and the process we’re in, and I think we’re in the right direction. With that said, we want to have more success.”

Heeke said there is no set mark needed for wins next season, there is a vision.

“Dan and I have talked a lot about it and we talk on a regular basis about our program and what we need to do and where we’re headed,” Heeke said. “We want to have more success next year, there’s no doubt about that.”

 

Tags

, , , ,

Related Posts

 
  • Anonymous

    What has two thumbs and WILL NOT be renewing his season tickets for next year?

  • Florenceschneider

    Rebuild?  What did Enos have to rebuild? 

    Granted, CMU lost some outstanding talent to graduation and the NFL after 2009, but the 2009 12-2 MAC Champions were a young team.  Only 13 seniors! 

    Enos complains about how young his 2011 team was, but he had 14 seniors! 

    In addition, Enos DID inherit some talent.  CMU’s recruiting classes from both 2008 and 2009 were ranked highest in the MAC according to VanDelay Sports.  It may not have been enough talent to win championships, but it certainly was enough talent for winning seasons…and more than EMU had/has!

    The FACT is Dan Enos inherited a championship program and culture at CMU and enough talent to produce winners if…IF…he utilized that talent correctly.  He didn’t.  Two 3-9 seasons are the result.

    The only reason Enos has not been removed is because CMU can’t afford the buyout at this stage of his contract.  That buyout drops significantly after next year.  In effect, Dan Enos is Dead Man Walking and only a fast start next fall (unlikely) will change that.  

  • Dgpeterson03

    Heeke is so full of bull & spin he’s making me sick just listening to him!  How can you expect things to get any better when everyone can see it can’t possibly get any better?!  Everyone knows both of these guys are MSU lackeys and they’re in it for Sparty!  I hope the Badgers maul those boy-lovers (read your Greek history, it wasn’t uncommon back then, even among non-Athenians) in Indianapolis for what they did to our program!

  • hummm

    Enos needs to realize the strengths of the players. Obviously he hasn’t figured that out. If you have a passing quarterback why don’t you run the spread???  He should NOT be a head coach. enough said.

  • Vince88

    Look at how many teams that just fired their head coach – but Central keeps theirs that showed no improvement on the score board. It’s not the team – they are talented student athletes. It’s the coach!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_42MFPDI4SGO4OZSMUQ2VKLNGYM frmatmn2ashes

    Mike Sherman is available…..

  • Chippy

    Both Enos and Heeke should be fired.  What Heeke is essentially saying is “We’re only CMU.  We had this once in a lifetime run and we are rebuilding”.

    You need to cut your losses now before your program becomes a joke and you wind up with no one wanting to coach there (or you’ll have to over pay) and no one wanting to play there.

  • Hegottago

    CMU fans have suffered enough. If Heeke thinks Enos is the right man then fire BOTH of them!

  • Bill Caldwell 84′

    This is the worst move Dave Heeke has ever made. It’s not the players. It’s the coaching. Great players and a terrible coach won’t win games. Bad move Dave Heeke.

  • Logical Chip

    Prediction for 2012:  Heeke will not fire Enos, even after Enos has a group of his sparty buddies give the team a pep talk before the sparty game.  Scheduled speakers:  Tony Mandarich on strength and conditioning, George Perles on running an exciting offense, Charles Rogers on recreation management, and Plaxico Burress on the legal system and gun control, 

  • Tony Sno’

    Bad move, CMU should of went after Houston Nutt or somebody other than Enos. CMU had the identity of a spread offense with speed, not a slow poke pro style offense with players in positions they aren’t familiar with. Nobody knows Enos, the only reason players want to play for us is because of the CMU tradition! If we had coach Kelly or even coach Jones back best believe not only will we keep winning the MAC we will be in a figiting chance to play in either a BCS or a new years bowl! When coach Kelly and coach Jones were with us, we NEVER had a empty stadium like Enos has had Kelly/Shorts looking over the past year and a half!