Hometown, Hardship and Heroes | Family, community, resilience lift Curran to dream job at Holy Cross

Just off of the main drag in Chelmsford, a gray Cape-style house is nestled away on a quiet side road. It was built by Tom Curran, the patriarch of the Curran family who had a construction company — and it was built to last. 

Years ago, it was the home where Kay Curran — as Dan Curran fondly reminisced throughout his hiring process as the Holy Cross football head coach — would set out tea and cookies for visiting coaches when her son, the youngest of five, was being recruited to play collegiate football. 

But when coaches visited from Holy Cross, she made that little extra effort to serve a three-course meal — after all, it was her dream school for one of her children to attend, and Dan, the youngest, was her last chance.

For decades, the home in Chelmsford hosted basketball tournaments in the backyard and held countless memories with friends and family. The home rests on a durable foundation of love, supported by an unwavering framework of community.

Dan and Megan Curran moved into the home following Kay’s passing in 2005. In the yard, there’s a “generational garden,” tended to by Megan, with perennials originally planted by Kay and additional plants gathered from other loved ones. Megan — the handiest one in the family — routinely found notes on the studs in the wall, written by Dan’s father, during her own construction projects.

In preseason, Coach Curran asked his team to share their “three H’s” — their hometown, their hardship and their hero. And if your hometown is Chelmsford, you know the Currans. 

Curran’s father was the fire captain in the town. In an athletically gifted family, the youngest Curran was a football hero growing up: Chelmsford High School Hall of Famer, the Boston Globe Player of the Year, and an EMass Super Bowl and four-time Merrimack Valley Conference champion. And for as beloved as the aforementioned Currans were, you can’t go anywhere in town without someone knowing Kay Curran and effusively singing her praises.

But through his athletic prowess and success, Dan Curran became a local legend, and part of the local folklore. Holy Cross associate head coach Bryan Robbat also grew up in Chelmsford, and recalls that when he was around four years old, his dad came home and told him a story about a guy who ran up sand hills with a telephone pole on his back. 

It wasn’t until years later that he put it all together, when Robbat was a year or two into his tenure on Curran’s staff at Merrimack. Curran mentioned, in passing, that his oldest brother Tom would take him to the sand hills, and he’d run with a telephone pole, or he’d push a car up the hill. (Sometimes, Tom would jokingly hit the brakes while Dan was pushing it to make Dan smash into the car.) 

“I was like, wait,” Robbat said. “You used to run up sand hills?”

Curran’s coaching style is one that is passionate, ultra-competitive, no-frills, substance over style. He carries himself with humility — no job is too small, and he wouldn’t ask anyone to do a task that he, himself, wouldn’t be willing to do. When Holy Cross’ athletic teams volunteered on the recent freshman move-in day, Curran was right in the mix of all of the football players, carrying mini-fridges and pulling duffel bags out of cargo carriers atop SUVs. 

On the field, Curran preaches the mental and physical toughness, intensity, strength, work ethic and resilience that has carried him through his own life. In his 11 years as the head coach at Merrimack College, his teams played with an extra edge and chip on their shoulders. 

“You just want to play as hard as you can for him,” said Westin Elliott, the offensive quality control coach at Holy Cross who played quarterback at Merrimack with Curran — and led the Warriors to an upset win over the ranked Crusaders in 2021. “You want to run through a wall…you know that the best is the standard.” 

But it isn’t all toughness and smash-mouth football for Curran. Sean McDonnell, longtime head coach at Curran’s alma mater of the University of New Hampshire, points to an unmatched intelligence and high football IQ that carried over from his playing days into his coaching career. 

“I always appreciated his knowledge, his ability to understand and comprehend what we were doing, and how we were doing it as a team,” McDonnell said. “He has this unbelievable thirst to get better. 

“He did a great job of seeking knowledge…he was always looking to get kids better, or find a way to get better. And he had a unique ability to do that.”

McDonnell is renowned for his “coaching tree” of highly successful collegiate head coaches who either played for him or served on his staff, with names that include Ryan Day and Chip Kelly. Though McDonnell and Curran both remained in the Northeast, McDonnell retired before he had a chance to coach against Curran, but he still was incredibly impressed with what he saw from Curran’s teams on film. 

“He puts his teams, both offensively and defensively, in a very good, if not the best, situation for them to win,” he said. “There were times when he could grind it out with a run attack and play time-of-possession football. There are other times he threw it all over the place. So he was smart enough to know on the offensive side that you had to adjust with the personnel you had. He had some great schemes.”

“I've always prided myself on being more prepared than other people,” Curran said. “I learned that at home from my older siblings and my parents about the value of hard work and preparation, and how important that is.”

As his professional playing days came to a close, a few quality control and Power Five grad assistant opportunities popped up for Curran, but those didn’t feel like the correct fit at the time. Then he got a call from John Perry, a former UNH assistant who was the head coach at Merrimack at the time. He had a full-time opening on his staff, just 20 minutes from where Curran already owned a home. 

Merrimack was a Division II program at the time, but it was important for Curran to join someone he already trusted and respected. And because he had spent the last eight years playing professionally, he felt like he had some catching up to do — a smaller school awarded him the opportunity to take on more responsibility more quickly. Shortly after his hiring, Curran was promoted to offensive coordinator, and was elevated to the head coach role in 2013 after Perry’s departure. 

“I looked at football as not just an opportunity for me to go out and win games, but to give back,” Curran said. “And I was really fortunate, even losing some important people in my life at a young age, to have some great role models with my siblings, my late parents, even some coaches in my life, that made a huge difference. So this is a way for me to combine my passion for football, and my ability to bring people together, and hopefully develop people and give back.”

“He’s the ultimate leader of men,” said Kevin Hennessey, the special teams quality control coach at Holy Cross, who also played for Curran at Merrimack. “Any room he walks in, he commands respect.”

And for all of his intensity as a coach, he’s inspiring and genuine, and incredibly calm on game days.

“He’s not out there performing for anybody when he's doing his speeches or anything like that,”  Robbat said. “That is all genuinely him. He’s a genuine person who genuinely cares about each and every person in the program. 

“He comes across as a tough guy, but he really has a huge heart for everybody. I call him a bleeding heart, just because he's willing to give everybody anything he has — even if he's bleeding out, he would do it.”

Curran guided Merrimack through its transition from Division II to Division I starting in 2019, building a foundation of success. Perhaps Curran’s most signature win in that time? That one that most Holy Cross fans would rather forget — a 35-21 Merrimack victory over the ranked Crusaders, who had defeated FBS foe Connecticut the week prior. 

Curran’s oldest brother couldn’t make it to the game, but watched the whole game on his phone. As Curran and his players celebrated the victory, Tom texted him postgame.

“I was thinking about Mom today,” he said. 

“Me too,” Dan replied.

When describing their father, the oldest of the five Curran children sees a lot of similarities between him and Dan Curran: loyal, family-oriented, hardworking. Between serving as captain in the fire department and his construction business, the elder Tom Curran would work 70 or 80 hours a week, but still found time to be at his children’s sporting events and focus completely on his family. 

Dan Curran was only eight years old when he lost his father. His dad was running his hockey tryout after fighting a four-alarm fire the night before. He vividly remembers watching his dad fall on the ice, thinking it was unusual — his dad was a terrific skater, after all. And of course, at eight years old, you don’t necessarily understand the scope of what’s going on. But soon after, he was pulled off the ice, saw the ambulances arrive, and realized what had happened.

When it comes to hardship, Curran has had no shortage of tragedy in his life — but in turn, he learned the value of community at a young age. Curran’s oldest brother was already a senior in high school when he was born, so he had a lot of positive adult influences as a child. But after their father’s passing, the rest of their community rallied around them.

“The fact that we were part of a really tight-knit community and a really tight family, those things paid huge dividends,” Curran said, “because we had a lot of people rally around us — and my mother stepped up in a big way.” 

Of course, as the youngest of five — and the youngest kid in his entire neighborhood — for a long time, Curran was just trying to keep up with the bigger guys and the older guys. And that turned into a competitive edge that permeated through everything he did, a persistent work ethic that led to success in athletics. 

His four older siblings guided him through the process of setting goals, gave him confidence, and taught him the resilience needed to face adversity. 

“Nothing has been easy for him,” Tom said. “Not because he wasn't really good at what he was doing, but he didn't get a lot of breaks. He had to work and work and work.” 

Curran battled through injuries as a child, but found his way into a successful high school career as a tailback, and an offer to play collegiately at New Hampshire. But he was also there at the same time as two other stellar running backs — including Jerry Azumah, who at the time set an NCAA record with 6,193 career rushing yards. 

“Most kids would have just bailed,” Tom said about his brother, “but he just kept battling.” 

Curran stayed the course, earning All-Atlantic 10 honors after rushing for over 1,000 yards and scoring 16 touchdowns in his senior season. He would then go on to enjoy a professional career, including a particularly stellar Arena League career with the New Orleans Voodoo and Georgia Force. He would earn a league rushing title and All-Conference Honors, and later spent time with the Seattle Seahawks and New Orleans Saints. He remained devoted to staying in shape — and also supporting his family — in anticipation of any opportunities that presented themselves. 

“I’ve never seen somebody work so hard at something,” said Megan — who joined her now-husband in Nashville for his first professional stop, and has been with him every step of the way. “Even though we didn't know what was coming, he was still working out and doing side jobs and whatever he could to support us, but also to make sure he was prepared for any call he would get.”

There’s no question who Dan Curran’s hero is: It’s his mother. Kay Curran was a superb athlete in her own right — there’s a legend that she was the fastest runner at Tewksbury High School, but in the pre-Title IX era, the only sport offered was basketball, where she led her team to multiple city titles and earned numerous All-State and All-Conference accolades. As a registered nurse who remained involved with just about any organization she could join, she remained connected to her community. 

After her husband passed, she remained tough on behalf of her children, particularly Dan and his sister Kate, the next-youngest. Tom recalls the only time he ever saw his mother get emotional, which was her saying: “I can’t let Danny or Kate see me cry — so just help me with that.” 

“I don't know what I did to help her,” Tom said, “But she just said, ‘I have to be there, and they have to know that I'm doing okay.' She missed my father terribly, but that’s all she was worried about: the kids, not herself.”

She remained a steady force throughout her children’s and grandchildren’s life. As Dan began his professional career, she cheered him on along the way. Shortly after he had wrapped up his season in New Orleans in 2004 at the age of 27, Kay  — having just flown down for one of his games and to visit her newest grandchild, Dan and Megan’s son Ty — began to feel fatigued. Assuming it was an issue with medication, she went to get it checked out.

To the shock of the Curran family, she was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. She had never smoked a day in her life. 

“The idea of losing her was unimaginable,” Megan said. 

Kay remained tough, and selfless, throughout her battle. When the oncologist delivered the news, and the Curran children sat stunned, Kay remarked: “Wow, imagine having to be the one to deliver that news?” Her concern was never herself; it was always for others.

As Kay went through treatment, Curran took a hiatus from professional football to stay by his mother’s side. He set aside his own dreams — and, assuming that his break would likely mean the end of his playing career, he turned his focus to other professional opportunities. He sat by his mother’s bedside while she was in hospice care, studying late at night to take the tests to become a financial advisor, so he could stay close to his family. 

After Kay passed in March 2005, her funeral was in the middle of a blizzard — but still, over 1,000 people attended. 

“In Chelmsford, you can meet someone on the street, and I could say my name, and they would say, ‘are you related to Kay Curran?’” Megan said. “It’s not Dan Curran — are you related to Kay Curran? And people will cry, just because of the kindness she showed them. Just because of the person she was.”

The community showed up for her, just as she had shown up for all of them throughout her life — and she showed up for nobody more so than her family. A year after Dan’s father passed, his hockey team was hosting a father-son game. Any other mother, in a similar situation, might have called an older brother or uncle to step in. 

But Kay Curran wasn't like any other mother. Instead, she went out and bought all of the equipment — helmet, skates, gloves, full uniform — suited up, and joined her youngest son on the ice. 

Curran was able to return to professional football for a few years after his mother’s passing. And throughout his playing and coaching career, one thing is evident: His biggest priority is his family. When he’s not coaching, he isn’t the type of guy to want to go golf, or fish, or do something else. He’d rather just go home and spend time with his wife and kids — and when Curran comes home from work, he doesn’t skip a beat and picks right up on the conversation. 

The house has been a little quieter in recent years, after Ty went to prep school and is now a freshman at Ball State, where he’s a member of the football team. The middle daughter, Kaley, just started eighth grade, and is more introverted, but has a sharp and dry sense of humor. The baby of the family, McKayla, “brings the juice” in the words of Curran — she loves to dance, and is all personality. Both girls love lacrosse, and attended Holy Cross women’s games during the spring (and look forward to attending more in future years).

“It's really funny, because I watch him on the sidelines, and he's got the attention of 90 guys on the field and all the staff — everyone's looking at him, and he has full control over that,” Megan said. “And then he comes home and he gets his world rocked by these two hilarious girls.” 

Just as he has an ability to meet players where they are, Curran has a natural ability to parent each of his three children how they need to be parented — he pivots to what Ty, Kaley and McKayla each need, individually and uniquely.

For Ty, who grew up around football players while Curran was playing and later coaching, there was never any pressure for him to play football. Of course, Megan admits, her husband hoped deep down that Ty would like football, but never forced him into it.

Instead of handing Ty a football right away, Curran instead grabbed every single ball they could find in their house, and brought his son to a nearby field. He laid out every single ball to see if there was a particular sport that Ty naturally gravitated toward. 

At the time, a four-year-old Ty was a whole lot more into dinosaurs — specifically, T-Rexes — than sports, but he still picked up every single ball and examined each one. Once he was done, he dropped the last ball, and put two fingers in the air and started growling like a dinosaur. His father then, too, began to imitate a T-Rex, and the two ran around the field as pretend dinosaurs. 

Then, and to this day, Curran has met his kids where they are, and given them the confidence, the self-esteem and the skills they need to succeed. 

Megan remembers holding Kaley in the hospital right after she was born, looking at her, and imagining the life she would have ahead, knowing that Kaley had a father who would always be there for her — no matter what. 

“You are so lucky,” she told her quietly, “that Dad’s your dad.”

After Curran and his family began their new journey at Holy Cross, they made the decision to move out of their family home in Chelmsford after nearly two decades and set their roots in a new place. They’re having a house built about 15 minutes from campus, and in the interim, they’re living in a rental house near campus. 

The new house is everything Megan has ever dreamed of: plenty of land, a giant front porch, a large kitchen and open space where their new community at Holy Cross can relax and feel comfortable. It’s the framework and foundation for Curran’s next step in his life, where he’s taking on his dream job. But as the Curran family embraces a new beginning, they are still keeping a piece of the old house — Megan is storing a few of Kay’s perennials in pots, so they can be replanted and bloom in their new yard. 

Curran’s hiring process in December was a whirlwind; it was only a week’s time between the job opening and Curran receiving the offer. When he called Megan to deliver the news, she was in the parking lot at her work Christmas party, and she began screaming and jumping around. There wasn’t any discussion or deliberation needed as a family: Holy Cross was always the dream. 

“When something has been your goal for a long time, and you feel connected with a place and now you get to actually be part of it,” Curran reflected several months later, “There's an emotional part of it. There's definitely an excitement, and almost a sense of, ‘Is this really happening?’”

For Megan, it was the culmination of his resilience. 

“He didn't let things in his life deter him, or let hardship make him jaded or angry,” Megan said. “It made him stronger, it made him better. It made him want to do the best that he could do.” 

On Dec. 19, Curran spoke at his introductory press conference about his joy and gratitude, in front of a crowd of staff, alumni, media and family in the Doran Auditorium at the Luth Athletic Complex. Tom and another of Dan's older brothers, Sean, beamed from the back of the room; his wife and kids sat front and center. McKayla leaned toward her mother and whispered: “I’ve never been so proud of Dad.”

Curran reflects on that day with pride and elation, but also deep emotion. As Curran said, his mom always hoped one of her kids would end up at Holy Cross. And as he sat at the press conference, embracing the moment, he knew that Kay’s dreams were coming true, too. His brother Tom noted that it felt like destiny for a Curran to finally be there. It was a new place, but at the same time, it was home.  

“A lot of us,” he said, “were thinking quite a bit about my parents that day.”

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