University of Cincinnati football head coach Scott Satterfield announced on Monday the official hire of Sean Dawkins as the Bearcats’ running backs coach.
Dawkins comes to UC from Memphis. He has more than 15 years of experience as a running backs coach, including with the Tigers, Charlotte and his alma mater, Troy.
“I’m thrilled to welcome Sean and his family to Cincinnati,” Satterfield said. “Sean is a tremendous coach. He has had success at every stop, coaching several 1,000-yard rushers and helping lead his teams to bowl wins. I’m excited to have him start working with our staff and our running backs room beginning today.”
At Memphis, Dawkins helped lead the Tigers to a pair of bowl victories during his two seasons on staff. He mentored running back Blake Watson, who rushed for 1,152 yards and scored 17 total touchdowns en route to All-AAC First Team accolades in 2023. The Tigers finished 10-3, ranking No. 14 in the nation in total offense (458.5) last fall.
At Charlotte, Dawkins guided running back Shadrick Byrd to Conference USA All-Freshman team honors in 2021 and Aaron McCallister to honorable mention all-league accolades in 2020.
In 2019, Charlotte led its conference in rushing (200.38), totaling a school-record 2,639 rushing yards. The 49ers set a school record for wins (seven) and earned a trip to their first-ever bowl game. Dawkins coached First Team All-Conference USA running back Benny LeMay, who rushed for 1,072 yards and signed a free agent contract with the Cleveland Browns.
He coached running backs at Troy in 2018, helping the Trojans to a 10-3 mark and a victory in the Dollar General Bowl.
Dawkins spent one season at Austin Peay in 2017, leading the No. 6 rushing attack (258.8 yards per game) in the FCS. The Govs finished 8-4, completing one of the best turnarounds in all of college football in his lone year on the staff. Austin Peay entered that fall coming off a 1-44 stretch since 2013.
He spent six seasons as the running backs coach at Murray State (2010-13, 2015-16) with one year at Chattanooga (2014) in between. He also coached at West Texas A&M and Huntingdon College.
As a player at Troy, he helped lead the Trojans to their first two bowl appearances (2004, 2006) and two Sun Belt titles (2006, 2007). He finished his career with more than 700 all-purpose yards and four rushing touchdowns. He graduated from Troy with a degree in social science in 2007.
Dawkins is engaged to Suan Allen. They have a nine-month old daughter Kaaliyah Dawkins, and he has an older daughter, Hazel Highsmith.
