RPO changed Enos' offense during 5 years away

Arkansas assistant coach Dan Enos speaks Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, during a press conference at the Frank Broyles Athletic Center on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE — Returning five years after he left, Arkansas offensive coordinator Dan Enos still knew his way around Northwest Arkansas. 

“I do have a lot of familiarity with Fayetteville,” Enos said Wednesday during his first time meeting with local media since his hiring was announced Jan. 19. “Just getting back and forth when you take a new job, usually that's a struggle. I haven't had to use the GPS."

Arkansas is the third program Enos has returned to coach for a second time. He was a graduate assistant at his alma mater Michigan State from 1991-93 and returned in 2006 for a four-year stint as a Spartans assistant coach. He also coached twice at Cincinnati — from 2005-06 and again in 2020.

“One of the reasons why it was so easy for me to come back (to Arkansas) was because of our experience here the first time as a family,” Enos said of Fayetteville. 

“It’s just a very special, unique place.”

The way around Fayetteville is still similar, but Enos’ offense has evolved since he last coached at Arkansas as part of Bret Bielema’s final staff in 2017. 

Enos, 54, has moved away from some of the pro-style principles that made him an ideal candidate when he was hired by Bielema in 2015. His offense now is based more in spread and run-pass option concepts that are similar to what the Razorbacks ran the previous three seasons under departed offensive coordinator Kendal Briles. 

“The great thing about this game is it’s constantly evolving,” Enos said. “You can either adapt and evolve with it, or you’ll find yourself on the outside looking in at times. Throughout my career I’ve always tried to at least try to stay on the cutting edge of what people were doing and learning new things. I think some of the experiences I’ve had, going to different places and learning different things — the RPO world has kind of brought on a whole new realm of the game that we didn’t do a lot of (at Arkansas from 2015-17).” 

Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman said he has been impressed by Enos’ ability to adapt. Pittman was the offensive line coach in Enos' offense at Arkansas in 2015.

“Dan has always — whether it be at Alabama or whether it be at Maryland — ran an offense around their personnel and their talents," Pittman said, "and that all starts, in my opinion, at quarterback.”

The Razorbacks are set to return two-year starter KJ Jefferson for the 2023 season. Jefferson has been responsible for 67 touchdowns — 48 passing and 19 rushing — and has passed for more than 2,600 yards and rushed for more than 600 yards each season since taking over as the full-time starter in 2021. 

Enos said he sees some similarities between Jefferson and past quarterbacks he has coached, including Philadelphia Eagles starter Jalen Hurts, whose final year at Alabama was spent with Enos as quarterbacks coach. Enos also drew comparisons between Jefferson and two-year Maryland starter Taulia Tagovailoa, who set school records for passing yards, passing touchdowns, total offense, completions and completion percentage.

“I’m a big fan of trying to find comparisons,” Enos said. “One thing I will say is I’ve coached a lot of quarterbacks over the years — this will be my 32nd season coming up as a collegiate coach — and they’re all different. There’s no two the same, and I tell this to the guys all the time, but the great ones that I’ve coached and been around have a lot of similar characteristics.

“KJ is a guy like Taulia and like Jalen, a very good passer and very athletic. It’s actually kind of exactly what you’re looking for, if you really want to put defenses in a bind, is a guy that can beat you with his arm and his brain, but also can beat you with his legs. I’ve been very, very impressed watching the film of KJ….Studying the tape, it’s been very impressive to look at his skillset.”

Since leaving Arkansas following the 2017 season, Enos has been influenced by Maryland head coach Mike Locksley, who was Alabama’s offensive coordinator during Enos’ year with the Crimson Tide. Locksley won the Broyles Award as the nation’s best assistant coach during the year he and Enos spent together at Alabama.

Enos spent one year as an offensive coordinator at Miami and one year as a running backs coach at Cincinnati before reuniting with Locksley at Maryland. 

“Mike was a spread guy, really, an RPO guy, and I was kind of the pro-style guy in the room, if you will,” Enos said. “It was just so neat the conversations that we had about football when we were kind of installing that system and doing what we were going to do that year. I learned a ton, and hopefully I was able to reciprocate that to some of the guys in the room. We just did what we did, and then we just continued to evolve.”


Cutups of Maryland's 2022 offense show similarities to the offense Arkansas ran last season. Pittman joked that it took less than 10 minutes to reach out to Enos once he knew he had to fill the void left when Briles took the same job at TCU. 

“I’ve had respect for Dan for a long, long time,” Pittman said. 

In addition to being a play caller, Enos’ past as a head coach has the potential to be beneficial to Pittman. Enos had a five-year record of 26-36 at Central Michigan from 2010-14 before he elected to become Arkansas' offensive coordinator the first time.

He is the only assistant on the Razorbacks’ staff with experience as a head coach.

“Having been a head coach before, I think I’m a better assistant coach,” Enos said. “(When) you really actually have to sit in that chair every day and deal with the day-to-day things…I think you just have an appreciation for the job and the pressure and the organization and the vision and everything. After I was done being the head coach and was an assistant coach again, I just tried to say, ‘OK, listen, what’s the head coach’s vision? What does he want out of me? How can I help him and help his job?’ 

“Kind of being the elder statesman and having been a head coach, I try to bring some experiences to the assistant coaches in the offensive staff room about trying to anticipate things that may happen or may help keep things off the head coach’s plate to make his life easier.”