Dugan pays his dues, takes over Methuen Football helm

Dugan “truly cared for all his players and wanted to make us succeed not only on the field but, more importantly, as people. Coach Dugan is the man, and I know he’s ready for this.”
~ Record-setting MHS running back Shane Eason

 

He has been omnipresent at Methuen High School be it in the classroom or on the football field, the architect of what has become one of the most consistently strong offenses in Massachusetts high school football, one that has sent several players off to excellent college careers.

Ryan Dugan, 37, played wide receiver and defensive back for the Rangers from 2001-05. He is a math instructor at MHS and, since 2009, has served on the football team staff rising from running backs coach to offensive coordinator, a position he held from 2013-24. Dugan is the new interim head coach of the Rangers and there has never been a more deserving choice for the job.

“I am feeling pretty much every emotion in the book,” says Dugan, who takes over on an interim basis as former head coach Tom Ryan fully focuses on his duties as MHS athletic director.

“Excitement and gratitude to be able to continue coaching in my hometown, stressful in some of the behind-the-scenes planning and organization aspects of the job. I get nervous with a couple hours of down time, I feel like I am missing or forgetting something because my mind is always thinking ahead to the next step.”

For Dugan, this is the culmination of a sequence of events with longtime AD Matt Curran stepping down and Ryan taking over as interim athletic director in 2024.

“We had conversations about Tom having to step away from coaching last spring. It wasn’t a shock or sudden event, but when it officially happened, I was relieved I could just move forward,” Dugan said.

Tom Ryan explains why Dugan is the best person to succeed him: “Ryan has been a huge part of building the program. He understands the demands of the position and will do great things as the head coach. With it being so close to the upcoming season, it just made sense to name him the interim coach.

“Ryan is meticulous in his preparation and is a detail-orientated person. He is demanding, but fair. If you like what has been going on with the Methuen High School football team for the past 12 years, Ryan Dugan was as big a part of that as anyone. He is the right guy to lead this program into the future.”

The true test of a head-coach hire is the response of the players.

Dugan explains. “I talk to most of the players on the team in school daily, weekly and monthly. I think they are all excited and ready to get started. I think they respect my work ethic and how much time I put into this job. Most of the players have seen it already, I am not a new face.”

Dugan’s face is unchanged as are his objectives: “We focus on being CUT. Consistent, Urgent, Tough. Consistent in your relationship with friends and family, in the classroom, in the locker room, in practice, in games, in offseason workouts and other sports, and in responsibilities.

“Have a sense of urgency in how you go about life. Walk around the locker room and practice field like your feet are on fire looking for something to put them out, and train your mind to operate with a sense of urgency. When you have an idea, do it now.

Dugan continues, “Toughness, not just physically, but mentally as well. It’s hard to come to practice every day in the summer for 7:30am. It’s hard at 2pm when some of your friends are going to Chick-fil-A to sacrifice that. It’s hard to finish the season all the way to Thanksgiving when all other fall sports end well before then. It’s hard to get stronger and faster in the weight room consistently from December to August.”

Dugan’s CUT philosophy also applies to his personality, albeit with different words:
Confidence: “I am actually not nervous at all about becoming a head coach for the first time. It’s not really my style. If you have watched the offensive play calling the last 12 years, you would agree. We don’t call plays scared and we just go for it. We have faith and confidence in our players and preparation.”

Undaunted: “The only way to learn is to experience something. There isn’t much time for thinking, and you better be ready to go. I am highly demanding, and I am going to put a lot of pressure on the players to respond. We like to say, ‘No Snowmen!’ because a snowman melts when it gets too hot.”

Tribute: “One of my best friends, Ryan Baldera, passed away due to a tragic sudden accident in November of 2019. He was a Methuen High three-sport athlete and 2006 graduate. We played sports together our entire lives, and I just know how excited and proud he would be for this moment. I am looking forward to honoring him every game.”

As Dugan coaches his players, he also has to make some personal adjustments: “The biggest change will be calling offensive plays from the sideline, compared to calling them from the booth.

“I have to learn to trust and delegate a few more responsibilities. I am the type of person to just do everything myself because I have a vision of what I expect. I know that I will need to trust the support staff around me because I cannot do it all.”

Two of Dugan’s prized offensive pupils have the same last name. Drew Eason was an all-everything quarterback at MHS, while his recently graduated brother Shane set records as a running back in Dugan’s offense. Both are continuing their football careers at Stonehill College.

“Coach Dugan is the most competitive, hard-working, determined, driven coach I have ever come across,” says Drew. “He spent hours giving up his time on weekdays and weekends being fully committed to the game.

“He completely recharged our entire offense when I got into the starting quarterback role. He changed to a heavy pass offense and really started getting us to sling the ball downfield. He installed many new formations and plays to suit our new style. This helped me elevate my game and play at the highest level possible.

“I believe he will do a tremendous job as a head coach. I can absolutely guarantee you he will give every ounce of effort to winning football games and teaching these high school kids how to develop into great people.”

Shane Eason agrees, “I believe Coach Dugan is going to do an amazing job as the new head coach of the Rangers. He really understands the system and has a lot of support from the community.

“He has a tremendous offensive scheme and will tailor his offense to what works for them. Coach Dugan gave me countless different opportunities to showcase my skills and improve as a player. He would line me up in the backfield, out wide and in the slot. He allowed me to run the ball, catch passes and even throw some touchdowns.

“It was amazing having a coach who truly cared for all his players and wanted to make us succeed not only on the field but, more importantly, as people. Coach Dugan is the man, and I know he’s ready for this.”

So what can we expect from Dugan’s 2025 Rangers? He responds, “As of right now, we have about 24 to 25 seniors coming back and a lot of great skill kids. We return our 2025 captains Josh Danella, Alex Santiago, Vinny DeMaio and Josh Defatima. We will be creative on the offensive line of scrimmage and develop some players there after graduating 4 out of 5 starters. We never define ourselves as a certain scheme on offense or defense. We adapt week-to-week and will play as hard as we can. We also have one of the best kickers in the area in junior Hicham Aboutoui.”

Dugan will retain much of Ryan’s staff including Brian Cole, Terry Donovan and Bryan Szettella. He also mentions a few changes: “Our offensive line coach Dan Holgate is going to transition to calling the defense as the defensive coordinator. Our new offensive line coach will be Mike Nguyen. He is an MHS graduate of 2008 and has been a track coach with MHS for 14 years. Connor Donovan (Terry’s son) has been a freshman football coach with us since 2021. He also played for Tom Ryan and me in 2013 and 2014, and will be coaching quarterbacks and running backs. Sal Amato, a 2004 MHS grad, is our outside linebackers coach.”

AD Ryan explains what brought the MHS Football program to this point and what may follow: “I was the interim athletic director and the head football coach this past year. After the season was over, I knew that I was going to apply for the permanent AD position and if I got it, I would step down as the football coach.

“The athletic director’s contract is three years and I will be the AD for the duration of that contract. The football head coaching position will be posted after the 2025 season, and if Ryan chooses to apply for the job for the 2026 season, he will be a candidate for the permanent position. Moving forward, I will no longer be the football coach and will be focusing my efforts on running the Methuen High School Athletic Department.”

While Dugan has the interim tag on his title as head coach, he hopes that his tenure will last beyond 2025: “I would love to be given that opportunity. There has been a lot of change in Methuen High Football and I feel like I have been fortunate enough to be the stable factor through it all. Our program has become an elite Division 1 football school that is competitive every single week and helps prepare student athletes for the next level.”

Dugan truly bleeds Ranger Blue, but his heart is at home with wife Kirstie, son Carter and daughter Callie.
“The three of them are the reason I have been able to coach all these years,” says Dugan. “My wife is beyond supportive and understands that I cannot attend certain events in the summer and fall, and get home late after the kids have dinner, do homework and go to bed. She knows that I am mentally occupied by football and not always able to have conversations or deal with my stress. I would not be able to coach without the three of them, and I am forever grateful.”

John Molori is an author, columnist, and a 2011 inductee into the Methuen Athletic Hall of Fame. Facebook: John Molori, Twitter @MoloriMedia. Email molorimedia@gmail.com