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Jones named new coach

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Jones named new coach

Butch Jones was named CMU’s new head football coach Jan. 5.

“It’s an honor and a privilege to be the head football coach at Central Michigan University,” Jones says. “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 says. He replaces Brian Kelly, who was named head coach at the University of Cincinnati.

Jones, who served as an assistant coach at CMU from 1998-2004, returns to Mount Pleasant after two seasons as an assistant at West Virginia University. During his two seasons at WVU, the Mountaineers posted a 22-3 overall record and claimed wins in the Sugar Bowl and Gator Bowl.

At West Virginia, he worked with an offense that ranked 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) in 2006.
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 players who earned all-conference honors in 15 years as a full-time position coach. •