Eastern football coach Kim Dameron made it clear Saturday during his introductory press conference that he would be heavily involved with the defense as the head coach, bringing 28 years of defensive coaching experience with him.

Dameron has been a defensive coordinator for seven different teams since 1993, at both the FCS and FBS levels. Saturday afternoon, Kane Wommack announced through his Twitter account that he had accepted the defensive coordinator position on Dameron’s coaching staff.

Wommack, who was at Ole Miss for the previous two years, served as a defensive graduate assistant. Wommack earned his undergraduate degree from Southern Mississippi in 2009, is going to be a defensive coordinator for the first in his career.

Dameron said once he hires an offensive coordinator, who will be Greg Stevens, he would let him focus on that part of the team, while he focused on the defense and leading his roster as one unit.

Dameron’s arrival at Eastern is now his third appearance in the Ohio Valley Conference and his second stint with the Panthers. In 2000, following a year coaching in the Canadian Football League with the Toronto Argonauts, Dameron was hired as defensive coordinator under Bob Spoo at Eastern.

Dameron lifted Eastern’s defense, which finished the previous season ranked 115th in total defense, allowing an average of 484.4 yards per game, to No. 27 in the FCS in 2000. The Panthers’ defense allowed 291.9 yards per game under Dameron.

With Spoo as the head coach and Dameron as the defensive coordinator, Eastern won the OVC title and made an appearance in the FCS playoffs after the Panthers finished with a 2-10 record in 1999.

Dameron’s first coordinator job came at Murray State in 1993, when Houston Nutt, who became the head coach during the same year, hired Dameron.

In the 1995 season, Dameron’s defense allowed an average of 253.3 yards per game, which was No. 6 in the FCS. Murray State finished 11-1 that season and had an 8-0 conference record.

Nutt said Eastern made a great decision in making Dameron the new head coach.

“He brings so much passion for the game with him and the players within the program are going to love him,” Nutt said. “I think Eastern Illinois has hit a home run with their hiring of Kim Dameron.”

But it was not always smooth sailing for Dameron at Murray State.

In Dameron’s first year at Murray State, the Racers’ defense was ranked 64th in the nation. In his second year, Dameron’s defense fell to 110th in the FCS in total defense.

Despite the downfall from his first year to his second, Dameron should get the credit for improving his 110th-ranked defense to No. 6 in the country in 1995.

Dameron’s next coaching stop brought him to Cincinnati in 1996. He spent two seasons as the secondary coach before being promoted to defensive coordinator in 1998.

The Bearcats did not have a successful 1998 season, finishing 2-9 overall. Dameron’s first stint as a defensive coordinator in the FBS was underwhelming as Cincinnati’s defense finished last in the nation in scoring defense (112th) and allowed the second-most yards (484.4). The previous year, Cincinnati ranked 33rd in total defense.

The meteoric fall of the Bearcats’ defense from 1997 to 1998, led to Dameron’s departure from Cincinnati.

After Eastern, Dameron spent four seasons with Stephen F. Austin and three with Louisiana Monroe. During those two reins as defensive coordinator, Dameron improved the teams’ defenses in the second year of his tenure.

Dameron’s next defensive coordinator job landed him in the Ivy League with Cornell in 2011. Dameron only lasted one season as The Big Red defense went from 97th in total defense in 2010 to 108th under Dameron.

Despite his shortcomings, Dameron has been lauded for his performance at Louisiana Tech last season.

Dameron became defensive coordinator at Louisiana Tech, taking over the worst defense in the FBS during the 2012 season, when the Bulldogs allowed 526.1 yards per game, which was 120th in the FBS.

In 2013, Louisiana Tech finished as the No. 69 ranked defense in the country, allowing 408.3 yards per game. It was the fourth most-improved defense in the FBS last season.

Eastern finished ranked No. 53 in total defense last year in the FCS, allowing an average of 374.1 yards per game. The last time the Panthers were on the field they allowed 587 yards — 472 coming on the ground in the 49-39 Eastern defeat in the playoffs.

Aldo Soto can be reached at 581-2812 or asoto2@eiu.edu.