BUTCH JONES NAMED CENTRAL MICHIGAN'S FOOTBALL HEAD COACH

Former Ferris State Coach and Player Gets First Head Coaching Position

Central Michigan University Director of Athletics Dave Heeke recently named former Ferris State University assistant football coach and Bulldog football player Butch Jones as the Chippewas' new head football coach.

“I am excited to have Butch Jones leading our football program,” Heeke said about Jones, a 1990 Ferris State graduate. “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.

A native of Saugatuck, Mich. and a former offensive coordinator at CMU, Jones returns to Central Michigan 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).

Jones filled a variety of roles during his first stint at CMU (1998-2004), including serving as offensive coordinator from 2001-03.

A two-year (1986-87) letterwinner on the Ferris State 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 spent three seasons (1995-97) as an assistant coach at Ferris State, including the last two as the Bulldogs' offensive coordinator. (Photo courtesy of Robert Barclay/CMU)

Jones returned to Ferris State in 1995 as the Bulldogs' running backs coach under current head coach Jeff Pierce and was promoted to offensive coordinator for the 1996 season. He continued to coach the quarterbacks and wide receivers along with his new offensive coordinator duties. Ferris State, while leading the Midwestern Intercollegiate Football Conference (MIFC) in total offense and scoring offense, won a second consecutive conference championship in 1996 and advanced to the NCAA Division II Quarterfinals. A student football coach at FSU from 1988-89, Jones arrived to Ferris State in 1986 as a walk-on but injuries forced him to quit playing after just two seasons.

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 is the 25th head football coach in CMU history.