Maryland football announced three coaching moves Monday, including the hiring of Dan Enos as the new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Enos leaves his role as associate head coach and running backs coach at Cincinnati to join the Terrapins.
Enos has ample experience as a play caller, serving as the head coach at Central Michigan for five seasons. The Bearcats, with Enos as associate head coach, won the American Athletic Conference Championship.
He also served as the quarterbacks coach at Alabama in 2018, when coach Mike Locksley was offensive coordinator for the Crimson Tide. Alabama lost in the national championship game that year, but posted eye-popping offensive numbers. Enos coached quarterback Tua Tagovailoa — the older brother of Maryland starter Taulia — and Tagovailoa finished the year with 43 touchdowns, six interceptions and 3,966 yards.
The Terrapins parted ways with offensive coordinator Scottie Montgomery last week. Enos should handle play-calling duties at Maryland, like Montgomery did, but Locksley has a large hand in the offensive system.
“Dan has a tremendous track record as one of the top quarterback developers in the country,” Locksley said in a release. “He played a significant role in the growth of Brandon and Austin Allen at Arkansas, and Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones at Alabama. We worked together seamlessly on the same staff in 2018 and because of Dan’s familiarity with our system, I expect a smooth transition as we continue to develop the talent on our roster and take the next steps as a program.”
Locksley finished his second season as Maryland’s head coach with a 2-3 record. Two coronavirus outbreaks within the program shortened the season further. But when the Terrapins did play, a young group of players showed promise.
Taulia Tagovailoa, who transferred from Alabama before the year, had an up-and-down campaign. He opened the season with three interceptions in a loss to Northwestern, but then responded with a combined 676 passing yards and eight total touchdowns in wins against Penn State and Minnesota.
Surrounding Tagovailoa is a talented receiving group, led by Dontay Demus. While Maryland will be without running back Jake Funk next season, the team has numerous young ballcarriers available.
“Coach Enos is a very detail-oriented coach so he’ll expect a lot out of his players and position group,” Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said in a release. “I think he’ll help my brother develop to become the best version of a football player he wants to be, but more importantly help the entire team in that sense. I had a great relationship with him at Alabama so I think it’s a great hire for Maryland.”
The Terrapins also hired a new offensive line coach to replace John Reagan, with Brian Braswell joining on a full-time basis. Braswell served as a volunteer assistant for Maryland last season, and he also has experience as the offensive line coach for the XFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks, as well as time with the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals as an assistant offensive line and quality control coach.
Locksley also promoted defensive line coach Brian Williams to become the co-defensive coordinator. Williams has been an effective recruiter for the Terrapins. According to 247Sports, Williams is the top-ranked recruiter in the Big Ten and fifth-ranked nationally.
• Andy Kostka can be reached at akostka@washingtontimes.com.
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