Dan Enos' contract with Michigan has chance to grow
Dan Enos, the former Central Michigan head coach and most recently Arkansas’ offensive coordinator, signed a four-year contract with Michigan that has considerable flexibility in terms of title and salary.
Enos, 49, currently is considered the wide receivers coach/assistant coach, according to his contract obtained Wednesday by The Detroit News through a Freedom of Information Act request. Also obtained were the “memorandum of understanding” contracts for Ben Herbert, the new head strength and conditioning coach, and Al Washington, the linebackers/special teams assistant.
The four-year contract was signed Dec. 15, 2017 by Enos and includes a base salary of $150,000 this year that increases by $50,000 each year. However, if a “coordinator” title is added to his role, his salary will immediately increase to $750,000 annually.
There has been considerable movement involving Jim Harbaugh’s staff at Michigan since the Wolverines lost to South Carolina in the Outback Bowl and finished the season 8-5. Safeties coach Brian Smith left the team before the bowl to become defensive coordinator at Rice, while Greg Frey, run-game coordinator and tackles/tight ends coach this past season, recently moved on to his alma mater, Florida State, where he will coach the offensive line.
Washington, who spent the last season at Cincinnati as the defensive line coach, has a two-year deal, according to the memorandum of understanding he signed Jan. 3, and will make $350,000 his first season and $375,000 the second season.
More:It's official: Dan Enos joins Michigan football staff
Herbert, like Enos, most recently was on staff at Arkansas after 11 years at Wisconsin, his alma mater where he played defensive line. Herbert’s deal is for three years, and he will make $450,000 this year in addition to a $50,000 signing bonus. He will make $500,000 each of the final two years.
Meanwhile, the base salary pool for four assistant strength coaches and one nutritionist is $400,000 each year.
It is unclear if there will be further changes to and departures from Harbaugh’s offensive staff, hence the curiousness about Enos’ contract that includes the possibility of a coordinator’s title and salary increase. Enos, a Dearborn native, was the Central Michigan head coach for five seasons.
Before that, he worked under Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio when he coached at Cincinnati. Enos was the quarterbacks coach for two seasons before moving with Dantonio to Michigan State, where he was quarterbacks coach in 2006 and running backs coach from 2007 to 2009. He took over at CMU in 2010.
He was a quarterback at Michigan State and started during the 1989 and 1990 seasons.
achengelis@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @chengelis