New Arkansas OC Dan Enos Will Provide Much-Needed Spark to Hogs Offense

Arkansas had been without an offensive coordinator ever since Jim Chaney decided to take the same position on Pitt's staff, and his replacement came out of left field.

Actually, it wasn't even left field. It was from outside of the ballpark.

Central Michigan head coach—yes, head coach—Dan Enos has been tabbed as the new offensive coordinator for the Hogs.

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"We are thrilled to have Coach Enos joining us in Fayetteville," said head coach Bret Bielema in a statement emailed by the school. "Dan is a great fit for our program. He runs a pro-style offense and brings expertise at the quarterback position as both a player and coach. We played against each other in college and he was a very intelligent and talented quarterback who showed great toughness and leadership."

Enos spent five seasons at Central Michigan. He led the Chippewas to three straight seasons in which they finished .500 or better overall, finished over .500 in the MAC and earned two bowl bids.

"I want to thank Bret (Bielema) for this wonderful opportunity to be part of something special at the University of Arkansas," said Enos in the statement. "The challenge of winning a championship in the SEC and developing young men at the highest level of college football is very attractive. Bret and I share many of the same philosophies and I’m excited to open the next chapter of my coaching career down in Fayetteville."

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During his time at Central Michigan, Enos produced two 1,000-yard rushers—Zurlon Tipton (1,492 yards, 19 touchdowns) in 2012 and Thomas Rawls (1,103 yards, 10 touchdowns) in 2014. 

That will play well with Arkansas, which returns the dynamic duo of Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins at running back—both of whom topped the 1,000-yard mark last year for the Razorbacks.

While Enos will run a traditional pro-style offense in Fayetteville, he is willing to open things up when appropriate, and will swing the pendulum ever so slightly away from Bielema's old-school values and more toward the new era.

Player	Year	Comp. %	Yds	TDs	INTs
Cooper Rush	2014	63.6	3,157	27	13
Cooper Rush	2013	56.7	2,349	15	15
Ryan Radcliff	2012	59.5	3,158	23	9
Ryan Radcliff	2011	56.7	3,286	25	16
Ryan Radcliff	2010	60.5	3,358	17	17

In four of Enos' five years at Central Michigan, his starting quarterback topped the 3,000-yard mark through the air. Bielema has only had one quarterback throw for more than 3,000 yards in his entire head coaching career—when Russell Wilson threw for 3,175 at Wisconsin in 2011.

What's more, Enos provides a head coaching presence in a coordinator role, which is huge for the development of the offense. Instead of scrambling and finding somebody to earn that trust, Enos will walk into the meeting room and demand it.

Why the jump?

Money could be a good reason. He was only making $360,000 as Central Michigan's head coach last year, according to the USA Today coaching salary database.

According to Kurt Voigt of the Associated Press, he's getting quite a bump in pay by taking a "step down."

As Andrea Adelson of ESPN notes, it's not the first time a "group of five" head coach has left to become an assistant in either the NFL or a Power Five school.

Central Michigan's loss is Arkansas' gain.

The Enos hire is surprising, but he's the perfect fit for what Arkansas wants to do. He's traditional, but flexible, which will pay immediate dividends for the Razorbacks.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.