Dan Curran enters his second season as head coach of the College of the Holy Cross football program in 2025.
In his first season at the helm, Curran helped Holy Cross earn a share of its sixth consecutive Patriot League Championship, with Holy Cross posting a 5-1 record in conference play. Twelve different Crusaders earned All-Patriot League honors, the most of any team in the conference.
Curran previously spent 11 seasons as the head coach at Merrimack, guiding the program through its transition to Division I. He is the all-time winningest coach in Merrimack history with 53 victories, and led the Warriors to the Northeast Conference championship game in 2022 and 2023. Curran’s 2022 team also tied the school single-season record with eight victories, while posting a seven-game winning streak and receiving votes in the top 25 for four consecutive weeks in just the program’s third full season at the Division I level.
Throughout his Merrimack career, Curran recruited and mentored nine All-Americans, 50 all-conference players and 10 NFL free agents.
During the 2023 season, Curran’s team tied for second place in the Northeast Conference, with wide receiver and kick returner Donovan Wadley earning first team All-American and NEC Offensive Player of the Year honors. The Warriors placed eight players on the All-NEC teams, while ranking fifth in the nation in total defense (283.2 yards allowed per game).
In 2022, Curran’s squad tied the program record with eight victories and finished in second place in the NEC. The Warriors had nine All-NEC and three All-New England selections, and led the conference in rushing defense (136.4 yards allowed per game).
In the Warriors’ inaugural season at the NCAA football championship subdivision (FCS) level and in the Northeast Conference (NEC) in 2019, Curran guided Merrimack to a 6-5 record, with the Warriors becoming one of just a handful of teams to have a winning record in their first year at the Division I level. Merrimack led the conference in sacks and ranked among the top three in scoring offense and defense in 2019. Individually, redshirt seniors Marquis Spence and Michael Mercuri were All-New England selections after superb debut seasons at the FCS level.
During Merrimack’s tenure at the Division II level, Curran led the program to several marquee moments, including the school's first victory over a Division I opponent when it defeated reigning Northeast Conference champion and Division I FCS Tournament participant Wagner (2013). Curran also owns signature wins vs. Division II regional powers LIU (four of the five wins in program history vs LIU) and New Haven (two of the three wins in program history vs New Haven, both on the road), as well as a winning record vs. old NE10 rivals Southern Connecticut and Bentley.
Under Curran’s guidance, the Merrimack program was named the Community Service Award winner at the 2014, 2017 and 2018 LEAD Awards for its work with Team IMPACT, Habitat for Humanity, Special Olympics, Lazarus House, You’re With Us and Lawrence Literacy Night. The football team continually ranked among Merrimack's most active programs in terms of community service hours each academic year.
Prior to his time as Merrimack’s head coach, Curran spent three seasons as Warriors’ offensive coordinator from 2010-2012. Merrimack led the Northeast-10 Conference in total offense during each of his three years as offensive coordinator. During the 2012 campaign, the Warriors ranked first in the nation with an average of 399.2 passing yards per game, while standing second in the country in both total offense (525.8 yards per game) and 10th in scoring offense (41.0 points per game).
Curran came to Merrimack after playing eight years of professional football. He spent time with the Seattle Seahawks and New Orleans Saints of the National Football League, as well as the New Orleans Voodoo and Georgia Force of the Arena Football League.
As a player in the Arena Football League, Curran earned first team All-League honors and was named to the All-Ironman Team after leading the league in rushing and becoming just the third player in league history at the time to rush for over 20 touchdowns in a season.
A graduate of the University of New Hampshire, Curran earned All-Atlantic 10 honors after rushing for over 1,000 yards and scoring 16 touchdowns in his senior season for head coach Sean McDonnell and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. The Chelmsford High School Hall of Famer was the Boston Globe Player of the Year as a senior after leading to a Super Bowl victory and its fourth consecutive Merrimack Valley Conference title.
Curran and his wife, Megan, have three children (Ty, Kaley and McKayla).
THE DAN CURRAN FILE
Hometown: Chelmsford, Mass.
Education: New Hampshire ’99
Wife: Megan
Children: Ty, Kaley and McKayla
CURRAN'S COACHING CAREER
2013-23 – Merrimack (Head Coach)
2010-12 – Merrimack (Offensive Coordinator)
