Posted: Apr 30, 2015
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Ford has himself been CMU defensive coordinator for the past six years, while serving as head coach for the last three. Ford obviously takes his defense seriously, and has been looking for an individual with the passion, energy and experience to match his own. He is convinced he found it in Calloway.
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"How awesome is it for me to go in search of a defensive coordinator and find a guy with David's experience?" Ford said. "He has been a head coach. He has been a coordinator. He has won championships. He has been to the playoffs at numerous places. He can recruit. There is just not much he can't do."
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Calloway is the former head coach (two seasons) and defensive coordinator (eight seasons) at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, an NCAA Division II program in southern Texas. He will officially begin his duties at CMU July 1.
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"CMU is a program on the rise," Calloway said. "It has good facilities, a good location, and the support of its administration. I'm familiar with some of the football staff and administration.
"Coach Ford is a good man; he'll help me to move forward as a coach, and I want to help him continue to build the football program," he added.
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Calloway is well aware of National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics' (NAIA) caliber football. He was an NAIA honorable mention linebacker playing for Langston (Okla.) University. He started his coaching career there as a student assistant, then spent three seasons coaching linebackers at Hastings (Neb.) College, another NAIA college.
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His professional resume' includes additional stops at Lane College in Tennessee and Southeastern Oklahoma State University before he joined the A&M-Kingsville staff as defensive coordinator in 2007. The Javelinas won the 2010 Lone Star Conference title and made the NCAA Div. II playoffs in 2010 and 2011.
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"My philosophy is simple, and it's based on three things," Calloway said. "Those are energy, effort, and passion. You can measure in the weight room and in your 40-yard-dash time, but I'm looking for character and a willingness to sacrifice for the good of the team.
"Our approach will be to defend the middle, stop the run, and force the offense to make plays on our terms," he added.
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Ford said Calloway's experience as a coach, recruiter, and academic monitor for student-athletes fit well with the type of individual he was seeking. He also taught in the Kingsville Department of Kinesiology; he already has one master's degree in teaching and is seeking a second in educational administration.
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The Eagles are coming off a 6-5 season in the rugged Heart of America Athletic Conference, CMU's first winning season since 2009. They recently wrapped up a strong spring, and Ford is excited about what Calloway will bring to Eagle football.
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"David adds a lot of fire and enthusiasm to our staff and our team," Ford said. "I feel our guys will give the maximum for him and I can't wait for our staff to get together and begin the journey. It's going to be fun."
