Holy Cross tabs Merrimack's Dan Curran as Crusaders new football coach
WORCESTER — Upon Bob Chesney’s departure from Holy Cross to James Madison University last Thursday, HC associate vice president for intercollegiate athletics Kit Hughes was prepared to move proficiently and promptly to find the Crusaders next football coach.
Holy Cross had been planning for the possibility of Chesney, who guided the Crusaders to a record five straight Patriot League titles in his six years at HC, moving on, and Hughes had started the process of evaluating, list building, vetting and identifying candidates.
On Friday, eight days after Chesney left, Holy Cross hired Dan Curran, who spent the last 11 seasons as Merrimack’s coach, to lead the Crusaders.
The 47-year-old Curran guided Merrimack through its transition from Division 2 to Division 1, and led the Warriors to back-to-back Northeast Conference championship game appearances in 2022 and 2023. He is the all-time winningest coach in Merrimack history with 53 victories.
“Holy Cross football has established its reputation as arguably the best place in Division 1 to pursue both an elite undergraduate degree and compete nationally at the highest level,” Hughes said. “Worcester has become a place for outstanding students, athletes and people to develop themselves in every dimension of their lives, and I could not be more excited to enhance that reputation under Coach Curran’s leadership.
“His deep understanding of Holy Cross,” Hughes added, “our values as a Jesuit Catholic institution, our commitment to academic excellence, and demonstrated ability to build and lead a quality and highly respected program helped him to distinguish himself throughout an incredibly competitive process. Coach Curran embraces not just the program that we are currently, but the one that we can become. His respect for the past, vision for the future and enthusiasm for the present will serve our student-athletes, college and community incredibly well moving forward.
“I would like to thank members of my team, including deputy athletic director Nick Smith and members of our search advisory board for their thoughtful insight throughout this process,” Hughes said. “We were methodical in our search, and I could not be more excited with the outcome and opportunity to support Coach Curran and our football program moving forward.”
Defensive coordinator Scott James served as interim coach during the hiring process and a busy time on the college football calendar with back-to-back recruiting weekends and early signing day on Wednesday.
Hughes said last week that a demonstrated track record or success as a head coach and a strong connection to the area would be two valuable qualities in HC’s next coach.
Curran grew up in Chelmsford and played at the University of New Hampshire, where he rushed for more than 1,000 yards and scored 16 touchdowns his senior season. Curran played professionally for eight seasons, in the NFL and Arena Football League.
Curran joined Merrimack’s staff as offensive coordinator in 2010. In each of his three seasons as OC, the Warriors led the Northeast-10 Conference in total offense.
In 2019, Merrimack’s inaugural season in the FCS, Curran guided the Warriors to a 6-5 record. They led the NEC in sacks and ranked in the top three in scoring offense and scoring defense.
Highlights of Curran’s tenure at Merrimack included a dominating 35-21 win over Holy Cross at Fitton Field on Sept. 11, 2021.
The 2022 team tied the program record with eight victories and finished second in the NEC. In 2023, Merrimack tied for second in the NEC and ranked fifth in the nation in total defense (283.2 yard per game).
During his career, Curran has recruited and mentored nine All-Americans, 50 all-conference players and 10 NFL free agents.
“It’s an absolute pleasure and honor to be named the next head football coach at Holy Cross,” Curran said. “I would like to thank President Vincent Rougeau, Kit Hughes and (deputy director of athletics) Nick Smith for this wonderful opportunity. Holy Cross is truly a special place, one where our student-athletes can have an elite academic experience, compete for championships and be part of an amazing community.”
—Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter @JenTolandTG.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Merrimack's Dan Curran hired as new Holy Cross football coach
