Central Michigan University Athletics
CMU Names Butch Jones Head Football Coach
1/5/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
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What They are Saying About Butch Jones
MOUNT PLEASANT – Director of Athletics Dave Heeke has named Butch Jones the new head football coach at Central Michigan University.
“I am excited to have Butch Jones leading our football program,” Heeke said. “We are fortunate to have someone here from an outstanding program like West Virginia and his experience with one of the most successful spread offenses in the country will help further develop our offense.
“Butch has all the skills to be a highly successful head coach,” Heeke added. “As we went through the entire interview process, it continued to become more and more clear that Butch Jones was the right man for this job. He will provide the leadership necessary to help take our program to the next level—winning consistently and competing for championships on an annual basis.”
Jones has spent a total of 11 seasons as an assistant at the Division I-A level. He has served as the offensive coordinator at three different schools, spanning eight seasons, and has worked directly with 24 all-conference selections in 15 years as a full-time position coach.
“It’s an honor and a privilege to be the head football coach at Central Michigan University,” Jones said. “It’s a program that now has national prominence, and along with that, a program that has the support of the administration, faculty, students and alumni.
“Growing up in Michigan, going to school in the state, and now being the head coach at Central Michigan, it’s obviously very exciting,” he added. “I’ve recruited in Michigan throughout my entire coaching career, and I look forward to working with the high school coaches all across the state as the head coach at CMU. Having spent seven years here previously, my family and I are very excited to be making Mount Pleasant our home again.”
A native of Michigan and a former offensive coordinator at CMU, Jones returns to Mount Pleasant after spending the 2005 and 2006 seasons as an assistant coach at West Virginia University. The Mountaineers, ranked 13th in the most recent Associated Press Top 25, rallied for a 38-35 victory over Georgia Tech in the Gator Bowl on New Year’s Day. West Virginia, employing a spread offensive attack, ranks second in Division I-A in rushing offense (302.3 ypg), tied for third in scoring offense (38.9 ppg) and fifth in total offense (463.0 ypg).
The 2005 Mountaineers finished 11-1 overall, capping their season with a 38-35 victory over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl and climbing to fifth in the final Associated Press Top 25. WVU scored at least 38 points in five of the final six games.
Jones, whose primary responsibility was coaching the WVU wide receivers, has worked directly with Brandon Myles and Darius Reynaud the past two seasons. Myles concluded his career in 2006 with 13 touchdown catches, ninth-most in West Virginia history; 11 of his 13 have come in the past two years with Jones as his position coach. Myles caught eight touchdown passes as a senior, tied for the fourth-most in a single season at West Virginia. Reynaud, meanwhile, earned All-Big East second team honors after leading WVU in receptions and receiving yards in 2006.
“The last two years working for Rich Rodriguez at West Virginia have completely prepared me for this position,” Jones said. “In those two years, West Virginia was 22-3, and maintained consistency within the program. I look forward to bringing some of that experience to CMU.”
Jones filled a variety of roles during his first stint at CMU (1998-2004), including serving as offensive coordinator from 2001-03. The Chippewas averaged just 271.5 yards per game and 12.5 points per game in 2000; in 2001, Jones’ first season directing the offense, those averages jumped to 379.5 yards per game and 22.8 points per game, respectively. He coached three different running backs who earned All-Mid-American Conference first team or second team honors.
A 1990 graduate of Ferris State University where he was a two-year letterman on the football team, Jones broke into the coaching ranks while still an undergraduate by serving as intern for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1987-89. Upon graduation, he spent the 1990-91 seasons as a graduate assistant at Rutgers University before taking over as the offensive coordinator at Wilkes University in 1992. He directed an offense at Wilkes that led the Middle Atlantic Conference in both scoring offense and total offense in 1993, a season in which it won a conference title and qualified for the NCAA Division III Playoffs.
Jones returned to his alma mater in 1995 as a running backs coach, only to be promoted to offensive coordinator for the 1996 season. The Bulldogs, while leading the Midwestern Intercollegiate Football Conference in total offense and scoring offense, won a second consecutive MIFC championship in 1996 and advanced to the NCAA Division II Quarterfinals.
Jones, who will turn 39 years old on Jan. 17, and his wife, Barb, are the parents of three children: Alex (10), Adam (5) and Andrew (born Jan. 3, 2007).
Jones takes over a CMU program that finished 10-4 overall, 7-1 in the Mid-American Conference in 2006. The Chippewas won their first MAC title since 1994, defeating Ohio, 31-10, in the MAC Championship Game at Ford Field in Detroit on Nov. 30. CMU returned to Ford Field on Dec. 26, defeating Middle Tennessee State, 31-14, in the Motor City Bowl for the program’s first Division I-A bowl win.
Jones replaces Brian Kelly, who departed for the University of Cincinnati after three seasons at CMU. He is the 25th head football coach in CMU history.
Butch Jones Year-by-Year
| Year | School | Position |
| 2005-06 | West Virginia | Wide Receivers |
| 2004 | Central Michigan | Running Backs |
| 2001-03 | Central Michigan | Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs |
| 2000 | Central Michigan | Running Backs |
| 1999 | Central Michigan | Wide Receivers |
| 1998 | Central Michigan | Tight Ends |
| 1996-97 | Ferris State | Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks/Wide Receivers |
| 1995 | Ferris State | Running Backs |
| 1992-94 | Wilkes | Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks/Wide Receivers |
| 1991-92 | Rutgers | Graduate Assistant-Quarterbacks/Wide Receivers |
| 1990-91 | Rutgers | Graduate Assistant-Running Backs |
| 1987-89 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | General Assistant-Intern |
