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Michael Casagrande | mcasagrande@al.com
Dan Enos comes to Alabama in charge of the quarterbacks.
From the offensive line meeting room, Ross Pierschbacher recognizes the new yet unmistakable voice in Alabama's football complex.
It belongs to a coach who's been around a time or two. He played at Michigan State when Nick Saban was a coordinator, was once a head coach and now has perhaps the most interesting job with the Crimson Tide.
That high-energy voice belongs to Dan Enos, the ex-Michigan State passer whose career led him to the top job at Central Michigan for five years before eventually landing in Tuscaloosa. Now, he's the Crimson Tide quarterbacks coach hired just as the Jalen Hurts-Tua Tagovailoa competition opened.
"He brings a lot of fire and a lot of juice," Pierschbacher said. "I'm not around him too much, but I hear him."
It's a reputation Enos brought to Alabama from his last job. The offensive coordinator at Arkansas the last three seasons was known for his intensity while maintaining strong relationships with his players.
Austin Allen, his quarterback the previous two seasons in Fayetteville, remembered Enos getting to the football complex at 5 a.m.
That will play well with his new employer.
Enos has a history with the boss dating back to his time in a Michigan State jersey in the late 1980s.
"I don't know if he'll remember me," Enos told reporters in Arkansas in 2015, "but Coach Saban was our defensive coordinator my first two years when I was a player at Michigan State. I was actually the scout-team quarterback my freshman year. He got after me a little bit in practice every day. I don't know if he'll remember that or not."
Evidently he did.
The 400 passing yards Allen logged against Alabama in 2016 certainly stood out in Saban's mind even if he left Fayetteville with a 49-30 win.
Enos' name had previously been connected to jobs at Alabama before landing with the program this offseason. It was a notable move when he left the head coaching job at Central Michigan to take the offensive coordinator position with the Razorbacks in 2015.
He went 26-36 in the five seasons in charge at CMU that saw his record peak at 7-6 twice. Quarterbacks at Central Michigan had 3,000-yard seasons in four of the five years he had the pro-style attack in place. Alabama has had just two 3,000-yard seasons in program history with Blake Sims' 3,487 in 2014 as the record.
Arkansas had no intention of losing Enos as his contract prevented him from leaving for an SEC school unless for a head coaching job. That, of course, changed when Bret Bielema and his staff were released following last season.
Enos was briefly employed by Michigan before heading back south to Alabama in late January.
The Razorback offense was solid in 2015 (No. 29 nationally averaging 465.5 yards a game) before injuries and attrition took a toll. With Allen hurt for a good part of last season, Arkansas' offense ranked 94th with an average of 373.4 yards a game.
The quarterback didn't hesitate when asked what Enos meant to his career.
"Best coach I've ever had," Allen told AL.com. "A tough-nosed coach whose main goal is to make you better. I think the guys at Alabama are really lucky. They will learn a lot, really quickly. Especially on the practice field. He's really going to drill them. He's going to make them a better quarterback with the drops, feet, eyes, know where to go with the football and things like that."
He's no robot, either.
Both Allen and former Razorbacks offensive lineman Frank Ragnow recalled Enos commitment to the stair stepper in the Arkansas gym.
"He used to refer to himself as Twisted Steel and Sex Appeal," Ragnow said with a grin. "Act like he's some good-looking dude."
Enos has a few talented players at his disposal at Alabama. Hurts is 25-2 as a starter and Tagovailoa threw three touchdowns after halftime in a championship-saving performance in January's national title game against Georgia.
Ragnow remembered Enos for his creativity as a play caller.
"Coach Bielema was definitely a power guy right at you," the center told AL.com. "But then he brought in Coach Enos and he likes to do everything -- outside zone, toss scheme, outside zone. I think that was blessing throughout my whole career that I had a pro-style offense with a lot of diversity."
Of course, as quarterbacks coach, it won't be Enos on the headset calling the plays. Mike Locksley got the promotion to offensive coordinator when Brian Daboll moved on to the Buffalo Bills.
Enos' appointment marks the first time in the Saban era the quarterbacks coach isn't also the offensive coordinator. From Major Applewhite straight through the Kiffin-Sarkisian-Daboll era, the jobs were linked.
Allen, though an outside contender for a late-round draft pick, said he wouldn't have been even in this position without the coaching from Enos at Arkansas.
"He played the position in college so he understands what's going through a quarterback's mind," Allen said. "Then, I would say how challenging he is on the practice field. If they miss an out-route, it's not going to be good enough for him. He expects you to be perfect out there. It's really challenging but it makes you better."
Michael Casagrande | mcasagrande@al.com
This high-intensity, former head coach might have the most important job at Alabama
From the offensive line meeting room, Ross Pierschbacher recognizes the new yet unmistakable voice in Alabama's football complex.
It belongs to a coach who's been around a time or two. He played at Michigan State when Nick Saban was a coordinator, was once a head coach and now has perhaps the most interesting job with the Crimson Tide.
That high-energy voice belongs to Dan Enos, the ex-Michigan State passer whose career led him to the top job at Central Michigan for five years before eventually landing in Tuscaloosa. Now, he's the Crimson Tide quarterbacks coach hired just as the Jalen Hurts-Tua Tagovailoa competition opened.
"He brings a lot of fire and a lot of juice," Pierschbacher said. "I'm not around him too much, but I hear him."
It's a reputation Enos brought to Alabama from his last job. The offensive coordinator at Arkansas the last three seasons was known for his intensity while maintaining strong relationships with his players.
Austin Allen, his quarterback the previous two seasons in Fayetteville, remembered Enos getting to the football complex at 5 a.m.
That will play well with his new employer.
Enos has a history with the boss dating back to his time in a Michigan State jersey in the late 1980s.
"I don't know if he'll remember me," Enos told reporters in Arkansas in 2015, "but Coach Saban was our defensive coordinator my first two years when I was a player at Michigan State. I was actually the scout-team quarterback my freshman year. He got after me a little bit in practice every day. I don't know if he'll remember that or not."
Evidently he did.
The 400 passing yards Allen logged against Alabama in 2016 certainly stood out in Saban's mind even if he left Fayetteville with a 49-30 win.
Enos' name had previously been connected to jobs at Alabama before landing with the program this offseason. It was a notable move when he left the head coaching job at Central Michigan to take the offensive coordinator position with the Razorbacks in 2015.
He went 26-36 in the five seasons in charge at CMU that saw his record peak at 7-6 twice. Quarterbacks at Central Michigan had 3,000-yard seasons in four of the five years he had the pro-style attack in place. Alabama has had just two 3,000-yard seasons in program history with Blake Sims' 3,487 in 2014 as the record.
Arkansas had no intention of losing Enos as his contract prevented him from leaving for an SEC school unless for a head coaching job. That, of course, changed when Bret Bielema and his staff were released following last season.
Enos was briefly employed by Michigan before heading back south to Alabama in late January.
The Razorback offense was solid in 2015 (No. 29 nationally averaging 465.5 yards a game) before injuries and attrition took a toll. With Allen hurt for a good part of last season, Arkansas' offense ranked 94th with an average of 373.4 yards a game.
The quarterback didn't hesitate when asked what Enos meant to his career.
"Best coach I've ever had," Allen told AL.com. "A tough-nosed coach whose main goal is to make you better. I think the guys at Alabama are really lucky. They will learn a lot, really quickly. Especially on the practice field. He's really going to drill them. He's going to make them a better quarterback with the drops, feet, eyes, know where to go with the football and things like that."
He's no robot, either.
Both Allen and former Razorbacks offensive lineman Frank Ragnow recalled Enos commitment to the stair stepper in the Arkansas gym.
"He used to refer to himself as Twisted Steel and Sex Appeal," Ragnow said with a grin. "Act like he's some good-looking dude."
Enos has a few talented players at his disposal at Alabama. Hurts is 25-2 as a starter and Tagovailoa threw three touchdowns after halftime in a championship-saving performance in January's national title game against Georgia.
Ragnow remembered Enos for his creativity as a play caller.
"Coach Bielema was definitely a power guy right at you," the center told AL.com. "But then he brought in Coach Enos and he likes to do everything -- outside zone, toss scheme, outside zone. I think that was blessing throughout my whole career that I had a pro-style offense with a lot of diversity."
Of course, as quarterbacks coach, it won't be Enos on the headset calling the plays. Mike Locksley got the promotion to offensive coordinator when Brian Daboll moved on to the Buffalo Bills.
Enos' appointment marks the first time in the Saban era the quarterbacks coach isn't also the offensive coordinator. From Major Applewhite straight through the Kiffin-Sarkisian-Daboll era, the jobs were linked.
Allen, though an outside contender for a late-round draft pick, said he wouldn't have been even in this position without the coaching from Enos at Arkansas.
"He played the position in college so he understands what's going through a quarterback's mind," Allen said. "Then, I would say how challenging he is on the practice field. If they miss an out-route, it's not going to be good enough for him. He expects you to be perfect out there. It's really challenging but it makes you better."
Michael Casagrande | mcasagrande@al.com
This high-intensity, former head coach might have the most important job at Alabama
