Dan Curran

Dan Curran (born October 28, 1976) is an American football coach and former player. He is the head football coach for the College of the Holy Cross. Curran was previously head coach of the Merrimack football program. He was a fullback/linebacker in the Arena Football League (AFL).

Early years Curran was named Boston Globe Player of the Year. He also earned All American status in USA Today and was named the 6th best player in New England by Super Prep Magazine. He led Chelmsford High School to a Super Bowl victory over Brookline High School.

Curran attended the University of New Hampshire and played for Head Coach Sean McDonnell and Offensive Coordinator Chip Kelly earning Atlantic 10 honors his Senior year after rushing for 1,059 yards and scoring 16 touchdowns. He was a fullback/linebacker during his time in the AFL as the league played under ironman rules.

Curran signed with the Georgia Force for the 2002 AFL season. He played in 11 games in 2002 and 12 games in 2003. He played in all 16 games for the VooDoo in 2004, leading the league in rushing and becoming just the third player in league history at the time to rush for over 20 touchdowns.

Curran signed with the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL) on July 8, 2004. On January 12, 2006, the Brigade placed Curran on refused to report.

On March 20, 2006, the Brigade traded Curran and Abdul-Salam Noah to the Georgia Force for Gillis Wilson. He appeared in seven games for the VooDoo in 2007, and also spent some time on injured reserve. Curran signed with the Seahawks again on June 12, 2009, but was released again on August 30, 2009.

He and Merrimack then joined Division 1 FCS in 2019, where he led the team to a winning record in their first year. During the 2021 season Curran led the program to their first ever victory over a ranked FCS opponent, in a 35–21 victory over #24 Holy Cross. During the 2022 season the team tied a program record going 8–3 overall, however they lost the defacto NEC championship to Saint Francis 52–23. The following year they once again lost the defacto NEC championship to Duquesne 26–14.

He was then hired as head coach of Holy Cross prior to the 2024 season.

Head coaching record