Ex-Arizona assistant to join Lobo football
Magee replaces DeBesse as OC
Arizona assistant coach Calvin Magee will be hired as the University of New Mexico’s new offensive coordinator, the Journal has learned from a source close to the process.
Two online entities, FootballScoop.com and The Athletic, also have reported that Magee will get the job.
He had served as Arizona’s associate head coach and co-offensive coordinator under head coach Rich Rodriguez since 2012. Rodriguez was fired after the 2017 season, and new U of A coach Kevin Sumlin plans to assemble his own staff.
Magee would replace Bob DeBesse, who was let go by UNM head coach Bob Davie last month. DeBesse since has been hired as the offensive coordinator at Georgia Southern.
Under DeBesse, UNM has run a triple option-based offense the past six seasons. Under Rodriguez, Magee has helped run a prolific spread option. The Wildcats averaged 41.3 points per game last season, ranking fifth in the NCAA’s Football Bowl Subdivision. Arizona ranked third nationally in rushing, averaging 309 yards per game.
Arizona quarterback back Khalil Tate rushed for 1,411 yards on the season and averaged 9.2 yards per carry, leading the FBS in that category. Tate also threw for 1,591 yards, completing 62 per-
cent of his passes.
Magee won’t have a Khalil Tate at UNM, but he does have some promising run-pass quarterbacks with whom to work.
Sophomore-to-be Tevaka Tuioti had relatively meager statistics last year, playing for the most part behind 2017 senior Lamar Jordan, but had some good moments. Last month, UNM signed juniorcollege quarterback Sheriron Jones, who signed with Tennessee out of high school before transferring.
Magee also served as running backs coach at Arizona and last year coached the tight ends as well.
It’s unclear how much the offense will change with Magee at the controls. Davie said last month that, despite having dismissed DeBesse, he didn’t want to stray too far from the formula that had produced impressive results for most of their tenure at UNM.
The Lobos ranked in the top 10 nationally in rushing from 2012-16 and led the nation in that department in 2016. But UNM dropped to 19th nationally last fall, averaging 235 yards per game, as the Lobos finished 3-9 on the heels of consecutive winning seasons and bowl appearances in 2015-16.
Magee, 54, is a native of New Orleans. He was an All-America tight end at Southern University and played five years in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
He began his coaching career as an assistant at Tampa (Fla.) Catholic High School, then spent five years at South Florida before being hired by Rodriguez at West Virginia. He spent eight years there and three at Michigan, all while working for Rodriguez, then served one year as Todd Graham’s assistant head coach and co-offensive coordinator at Pittsburgh.
Magee then was reunited with Rodriguez at Arizona.
He’s likely to take a significant cut in pay. According to a USA Today survey, Magee was paid $540,000 last year at Arizona. DeBesse was making $226,750 at UNM.
According to his Arizona bio, Magee and his wife, Rosie, have two daughters, a son, two grandsons and a granddaughter.