Springdale grad Sean Dugan moves into new role as alpha linebackers coach at Eastern Michigan

Just before the start of the 2024 college football season, the NCAA amended its rule that had limited the number of coaches who could participate in on-field instruction. It was good news for Springdale grad Sean Dugan.

Dugan was hired as a defensive analyst at Eastern Michigan before the 2023 season. Because the number of on-field coaches was restricted, Dugan spent that first season in Ypsilanti with a computer in his face rather than a whistle in his mouth.

On the positive side, Dugan was able to take a deep dive in to the schemes and tendencies of FBS defenses.

“I learned a ton with really breaking down the game,” he said.

But with the change in NCAA rules last year, Dugan got up from behind his desk and onto the field. He had a firsthand look at the personnel he had viewed mostly from afar.

Those two experiences — the game study and on-field experience with EMU’s defense — dovetailed nicely as Dugan assumed a new role with the Eagles this season: alpha linebackers coach. For the uninitiated, the alpha linebacker is the field-side linebacker who plays more outside “the box.”

Dugan will oversee what he calls a “deep” position group. Grad student Zach Mowchan will be the leader and returns after missing most of last season with an ACL injury. He will be complemented by sophomore Terrelle Elmore, who, Dugan said, has “taken a big step” since last season, and senior Kadin Bailey.

Bailey, who began his career at Syracuse and has missed the better part of the past two seasons with an injury, is the son of former NFL linebacker Boss Bailey and the nephew of Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back Champ Bailey.

“It was definitely beneficial with me being able to get hands-on,” Dugan said about last season. “It was really helpful to be on the field and physically be able to instruct and coach.”

What also has been helpful is being able to focus on one job. When Dugan was a young coach at Division III Wisconsin Stevens Point, he was academic coordinator, recruiting coordinator, arranged team hotels and even helped run the strength and conditioning program during the covid pandemic.

Even as a defensive analyst, Dugan had to pick apart the minutiae of an entire scheme. Now, he can zero in on the alphas.

As a bona fide assistant coach, Dugan also has an active role in recruiting. Perhaps not surprisingly, coach Chris Creighton assigned Dugan the WPIAL and Wisconsin.

“Me being a yinzer, I think WPIAL football is better than any football out there,” he said, adding that “everyone in the building” knows he is from Pittsburgh. “When you get to recruit places where you love and you believe in the people, it’s frickin’ awesome.”

Dugan also believes in EMU’s chances to win the MAC title and return to a bowl game. The Eagles stumbled to the finish last season, dropping their final five games to negate a 5-2 mark over the first seven games.

Besides having several returning players who are eager to make amends, Dugan said the continuity in EMU’s coaching staff is a plus. Creighton is entering his 12th season at the helm, defensive coordinator Ben Needham is in his eighth season and offensive coordinator Mike Piatkowski his sixth.

Now in his third season on the staff, Dugan is becoming part of that stability, something he believes will give the Eagles an edge.

“I don’t know how many coaches in the country at the FBS level are going on 12 years in the same place,” he said. “We have the culture in place. We have our eyes set on the MAC championship.”