Davie walks away with no regrets
In terms of could-haves, though not necessarily should-haves, Bob Davie said on Tuesday it might have been a good idea to walk away from the University of New Mexico football program after taking the Lobos to a 9-4 record and a New Mexico Bowl victory in 2016. He didn’t. Now, eight wins and 27 losses later, he’ll walk the Lobo sideline at Dream style Stadium for the last time on Saturday. On Monday, athletic director Eddie Nuñez announced he and Davie had mutually agreed to a parting of the ways.
Yes, in hindsight, Davie could have left wearing a hero’s mantle — the man who’d brought the UNM program back from the 3-33 debacle of the Mike Locksley years. It would be left to his successor to either build on Davie’s success or to be the guy who let the program sink back into mediocrity or worse.
But, really, who does that? Davie was 62 at the time, and his modest success at New Mexico wasn’t going to get him a head-coaching job at a higher level. Though he knew the program’s history and thus knew sustained success was a virtual stranger here, he soldiered on. It’s what coaches do.
“I thought (building on success) was gonna be very difficult, but I thought it would get better,” he said at his final media luncheon. “And,
quite honestly, it got worse.”
To answer the question of what went wrong from 2017-19, we should first discuss what went right from 2012-16.
After accepting the UNM job in November 2011, Davie made a brilliant move. He hired Bob DeBesse, the offensive coordinator at Sam Houston State, and had DeBesse install a triple-option offense run out of the pistol formation. Scheme, Davie believed, could compensate for limited talent.
Patience, if not a virtue, was a requirement. The Lobos went 11-26 from 2012-14, though 11 of those losses came by a touchdown or less.
The payoff came in 2015 with a 7-5 regular-season record, a historic victory over Boise State on the Broncos’ blue turf, and an exciting, 45-37 loss to Arizona in the New Mexico Bowl.
Then came 2016, with those nine wins — including a New Mexico Bowl victory over UTSA — and a share of a Mountain West Conference West Division title.
Yet, trouble lurked on the horizon. Defensive linchpins Dakota Cox, Nik D’Avanzo and Daniel Henry were gone, as was the left side of the 2016 offensive line — Reno Henderson and Chris Lewis. Most important, there was no running back the caliber of previous stars Kasey Carrier, Jhurell Pressley and Teriyon Gipson.
Entering the 2017 season, Davie believed the Lobos, while still running the triple option, would have to pass effectively to win. They didn’t, and they didn’t — hence a 3-9 season.
Davie then made the decision to fire DeBesse and scrap the triple option. He said on Tuesday he doesn’t second-guess that move, saying injuries at quarterback have prevented the Lobos from consistently operating in a spread attack. But then, there’s the defense. New Mexico’s recruiting — whether it’s a quarterback who can consistently hit receivers or a safety who can consistently cover a wide receiver — has not kept pace with its Mountain West competitors.
Davie has complained of losing the facilities war. It also seems reasonable to believe the 2017 investigations into his conduct and his 30-day suspension the following spring have negatively impacted recruiting.
Regardless, Davie said on Tuesday he has no regrets — preferring to recall that memorable night in Boise or that New Mexico Bowl victory on a cold, windy day at Dreamstyle Stadium.
He could have walked away then. He didn’t.
He walks away now, proud that, once upon a time, he pulled the Lobos out of the abyss.
“I put every ounce into this,” he said. “... I’m proud of what we accomplished here.”
Pulling the Lobos out of this latest abyss, well, that’s the next guy’s problem.