YPSILANTI, Mich. — Sean Dugan is barely into his 30s, but the Springdale grad is starting to feel old already.

While hosting a football recruit at Eastern Michigan recently, Dugan, the Eagles’ alpha linebackers coach, was pointing out a wall in Incarnati Athletic Center that honored former EMU players who had won Super Bowl rings. Being a Pittsburgh guy, Dugan, naturally, pointed out former Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch.

The recruit’s response: “Who is Charlie Batch?”

Dugan was struck by the thought that this generation of high school football players has little recollection of the players he watched as a teenager just over a decade ago. It was one of several revelations he had during his first season on an FBS sideline.

After serving two seasons as a defensive analyst for the Eagles under coach Chris Creighton, Dugan moved from the coaching box to the sidelines for the 2025 season. He had been the outside linebackers coach at Austin Peay of the FCS and defensive coordinator at D-III Wisconsin Stevens Point, but now he was in the “big time.”

Eastern Michigan got off to a slow start before picking up steam in the season’s final month. Heading into last week’s season finale against archrival Western Michigan — a game shown nationally on ESPN2 — the Eagles had a chance to finish an undefeated November, get a victory on senior night and knock Western out of the MAC title game.

The Broncos, however, took advantage of five turnovers and earned a 31-21 victory. EMU finished 3-5 in the MAC and 4-8 overall.

Though disappointed with how the team finished, Dugan characterized the overall experience as positive.

“I would say certainly with every season, there’s bumps along the way,” Dugan said before last Tuesday’s game. “We certainly didn’t start the season the way we wanted.

“Getting a chance to have my own position group … I have a lot of pride to begin with, but you take a little more pride when it’s those guys on the field you’re specifically responsible for.”

Dugan was put to the test right away. In the season-opener against Texas State, senior starting alpha Kadin Bailey suffered a torn ACL and was lost for the season, forcing the young coach to improvise.

Safety Barry Manning was moved to the alpha spot and responded by finishing second on the team in total tackles. He also had an interception (in a win over Bowling Green).

“It took him a little bit to figure out what it was like playing down close to the box,” Dugan said. “Things happen a little bit quicker down there.”

As much as anything on the field, adapting to off-the-field aspects of being an FBS assistant proved equally as challenging, particularly when it comes to recruiting. Because of changes in NCAA rules, Dugan said football programs must do more recruiting in-season.

The weekend before EMU hosted Western Michigan, Dugan had four linebacker recruits visiting. During the Eagles’ bye, he spent the week recruiting in Mississippi. (He also recruits the WPIAL/City League and said he recently made offers to a couple of juniors from the area.)

“The days are a little bit longer,” Dugan said. “They’re a bit longer in-season to begin with.”

But his most important takeaway, he said, was getting a more intimate look at how Creighton runs the program. Creighton, who has guided the Eagles to six bowl games in his 12 seasons, is someone Dugan hopes to model as his own career progresses.

“I know I’m getting old, but that guy, when I grow up, is who I want to be,” Dugan said. “He’s somebody who truly stands on what he says and what he believes in. And you feel that trickle down through the whole program because you don’t get that everywhere.

“Whatever he tells recruits is what happens, and whatever he tells the coaches is what happens.”

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