* 2014, 2008 Eddie Robinson Award Finalist
* 2011 AFCA Regional Coach of the Year* 2008 OVC Coach of the YearThe expectations for the Eastern Kentucky University football team always seem to be high and head coach Dean Hood has delivered NCAA Football Championship Subdivison (FCS) playoff appearances three times in his seven years as head coach (2014, 2011, 2008).
“It doesn’t matter if you are coaching a game in Death Valley versus Clemson or here versus Morehead State,” Hood said. “It’s all the same. The kids understand that point and the culture we are trying to create at EKU. They can’t play to the best of their athletic ability until they know exactly where they are supposed to be and what they are supposed to do on the field.”
The Eastern football program has produced nine All-Americans, one OVC Offensive Player of the Year, one OVC Defensive Player of the Year, one OVC Freshman of the Year and 26 first team all-conference performers in Hood’s seven years on the EKU sidelines. This past fall, running back Dy'Shawn Mobley became the first EKU running back since Markus Thomas in 1992 to be honored as OVC Offensive Player of the Year.
Hood, 51, spent seven seasons working at Wake Forest University before taking over the EKU program in January 2008. Under Hood’s direction, the Wake Forest defense was known for creating turnovers and scoring touchdowns. The Demon Deacons forced 186 turnovers from 2001-07, more than two per game. In 2007, Wake Forest led the Atlantic Coast Conference with 35 turnovers forced on its way to going 9-4 and capturing the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
“Dean Hood is a wonderful blend of several characteristics we were looking for in a head coach,” former EKU Director of Athletics Mark Sandy said. “He’s a great teacher, excellent recruiter, a person of high character, and someone who has been part of the EKU football heritage.”
From 1994-98, Hood spent five seasons as an assistant coach at Eastern Kentucky under College Football Hall of Fame coach Roy Kidd. He served all five years as the secondary coach and the last two seasons as the defensive coordinator. In Hood’s first stint at EKU, the Colonels captured two Ohio Valley Conference titles and advanced to the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs three times.
“This was a big deal for me,” former Eastern Kentucky University President Dr. Doug Whitlock said. “I have been an Eastern football fan for almost 50 years; so I wanted us to find someone who would fit in with the community, had the kind of values that our football program has traditionally been built upon, and hopefully had been a part of the EKU football tradition. And, yes, we wanted someone who has been and will be a winner. Dean Hood fills all those particulars.”
At Wake Forest, Hood and the rest of the Demon Deacons broke every program record imaginable in 2006 and set many other milestones. WFU won the ACC title for the first time since 1970 by shattering the program record with 11 victories. The Demon Deacons earned a berth in a BCS bowl game, taking on Louisville in the FedEx Orange Bowl.
Much of the credit for Wake Forest’s 2006 league championship fell to the defense. The Demon Deacons allowed just 15.4 ppg to rank second in the ACC and 21st nationally. Against the run, Wake yielded just 105.8 yards per game to rank 21st nationally, the third lowest total in Wake Forest history. Against the pass, the Demon Deacons recorded 22 interceptions, second most in the nation.
Hood’s defenders earned All-ACC mention 14 times. That list includes four NFL draft picks – Calvin Pace, Montique Sharpe, Eric King and Josh Gattis.
Hood entered the collegiate coaching ranks as an assistant at Fairmont (W.Va.) State College, where he worked with the defensive backs during the 1987 and 1988 seasons. The 1988 team won the WVIAC championship and led the nation with 31 interceptions. Hood then spent the 1989 campaign at Colgate University.
From 1990-93, Hood coached at Glenville (W.Va.) State College, the last three of which he served as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach. In 1993, Glenville finished 10-3 and advanced to the NAIA Division I championship game. Also that year, Hood’s defense led the nation in scoring defense (9.2 ppg), passing defense (118.0 ypg), and total defense (223.0 ypg).
Hood moved to Ohio University for two years (1999-2000) where he was in charge of the defensive backs. That unit recorded 17 interceptions in 1999, the most in more than a decade. The following year, Ohio ranked 20th nationally in scoring defense (18.9 points per game) as the Bobcat defense was one of only five units in Division I-A that did not allow more than 30 points in a game throughout the entire season.
This is Hood’s first head coaching position and he is just the third EKU head football coach in the last 50 years.
“Knowing first-hand what Coach Kidd built here, this is one of the best jobs in the country,” Hood said. “I remember when I was here the first time thinking how many guys in the history of athletics are still coaching in a facility named after them. That is rare. It is exciting to be at the helm of this program.”
Hood is married to the former Crystal Ramsey of Richmond, Ky. The couple has four children – two sons, Trey and Daven, and two daughters, Jada and Cordia.
Coaching ExperienceFairmont (W.Va.) State (Secondary Coach, 1987-88)
Colgate (Assistant Secondary Coach, 1989)
Glenville (W.Va.) State (Defensive Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach, 1990-93)
Eastern Kentucky (Secondary Coach, 1994-96), (Defensive Coordinator, 1997-98)
Ohio (Seconardary Coach, 1999-00)
Wake Forest (Defensive Coordinator/Secondary Coach, 2001-07)
Eastern Kentucky (Head Coach, 2008-present)
