Denny Douds is ESU's most decorated football coach, having coached the team to great success over the course of his long tenure, which began in 1966 and culminated in his retirement in 2018. Born and raised in western Pennsylvania, Douds' played collegiate football at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1963. He began his coaching career at ESU as an assistant coach, working his way up to head coach in 1974. Soon after his promotion, Doud's proved his coaching acumen by leading the team to consecutive undefeated seasons in 1975 and 1976, later winning the Lambert Cup in 1982, awarded to the top Division II football team in the East. Over the course of his long career, Douds' was 230 games, becoming the winningest coach in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) history. As of 2018, his 230 career wins ranked as the 11th most wins among active football coaches across all NCAA and NAIA divisions. In addition to his role as football coach, Douds was an assistant professor of sports studies. Douds received numerous accolades and awards over his coaching tenure, including Kodak College Division Coach of the Year in 1975, 1976, and 1982, as well as the PSAC Eastern Division Coach of the Year in 1976, 1982, and 2002. Douds was inducted into the ESU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999, in addition to being named to the Slippery Rock University Hall of Fame, the Indiana County Hall of Fame, and the Northeast Pennsylvania Athletic Hall of Fame. Doud's career as ESU coach ended dramatically on October 27, 2018. During the final seconds of ESU's loss to Ohio Dominican, Douds' walked off the field, retiring as the clock ran out.