Eastern Illinois University Athletics

Position: Assistant Coach - Defensive Line
Years at EIU: 2nd year
Alma Mater: Arkansas, 1989

Dennis “Dirt” Winston is in his second season as an assistant coach at Eastern Illinois on head coach Kim Dameron’s staff.  Winston coaches the defensive line.

In his first season at EIU, Winston coached a group led by second team All-OVC selection Dino Fanti.  The defensive line recorded 31.5 tackles for loss with 5.5 sacks.  Fanti had 15.5 TFL as he ranked 43rd in the nation and third in the OVC for the season.

Winston brings a wealth of experience as both a coach and player at the collegiate and professional level.  Winston played 11 seasons in the National Football League for both the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints.  He was a starter for the Steelers 1978 and 1979 Super Bowl Championship teams and was the Saints MVP for the 1982 season.

Following his professional career Winston began his coaching career at Grove City College in Pennsylvania.  Over the last 25 years he has coached at all levels of the NCAA and had a three-year stint as an assistant coach in the Canadian Football League.

Prior to coming to EIU, Winston served as the defensive coordinator at Grambling State where he finished the 2013 season as the interim head coach.  It was his third stint as an assistant coach at Grambling after coaching the linebackers and serving as defensive coordinator for the 1992-94 seasons and 1995-97 seasons.  During the 1992 season he helped coach Grambling to the Black College National Championship with a 10-2 record.

Winston was the defensive line and linebackers coach at Toledo during the Rockets successful run in the Mid-American Conference.  From 2001-04, Toledo won 36 games with two MAC Championships and three appearances in the Motor City Bowl. 

He then moved on to coach with the Edmonton Eskimos in the Canadian Football League from 2005-07.   As a defensive line coach he helped the team win one Grey Cup and one West Division Championship.

Winston has additional coaching stops at Slippery Rock (1989), Arkansas State (1990-91), Norfolk State (1994), Arkansas (1997), Kentucky State (2000), Mississippi Valley State (2007-10) and Arkansas Pine-Bluff (2010-13). 

Winston played linebacker at Arkansas from 1973-76 where he helped the Razorbacks win the 1975 Southwest Conference Championship and Cotton Bowl.   He earned his degree from Arkansas in 1989 following his professional playing career.  Winston earned a master’s degree from Grambling in 1994.  He was selected in the fifth round of the 1977 NFL Draft.