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How many coaches go 13-24 in their first three seasons, then turn that into a new hefty contract? Dan Enos, that's who. The last four games of the 2012 season certainly saved his hide, and fattened the amount of money in his wallet as CMU announced a new restructured contract that extends through the 2016 season. Previously he had signed a one-year extension through 2013, and that was after back-to-back 3-9 seasons.
Per the release, there's a base salary increase and some incentives sprinkled in there too. This past year he made $325,000 base, more only than Darrell Hazell's contract and equal to Jeff Quinn's. Winning the Little Caesars Bowl can go a long way, it seems. But honestly, getting to a bowl game — and one in-state, at that — and winning it was definitely a worthwhile turnaround for the program and fan morale. And while the total attendance mark wasn't spectacular, CMU did sell its first batch of 10,000 allotted tickets, which is a testament to how CMU finished down the stretch under Enos.
A four-year restructured contract, though, seems like a lot given how much his teams have actually accomplished over the first three years of his tenure. To his credit he did bring in a mighty fine offensive line and helped develop two-star recruit offensive lineman Eric Fisher into perhaps the top offensive tackle in the NFL Draft. Other portions of the team have been inconsistent but they did beat a team superior to them (Iowa) and just might have a foundation in place to compete in the MAC West.
Well, it looks like CMU and athletic director Dave Heeke are playing it patient and giving him four years to be a success. Hey, if the president gets four years to fix things, why not a football coach?