Lobos’ Gonzales working on hiring staff, recruiting
New coach plans to announce his assistants in new year
ALBUQUERQUE — The early signing period came and went without so much as a hiccup out of the University of New Mexico football program, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t something brewing behind the scenes.
Hired on Dec. 17 as the 32nd head coach in team history, Danny Gonzales said he spent his first week burning up minutes on his phone looking for both players and coaches. He said he’s well into the process of building a coaching staff and chasing down prospective recruits.
The Lobos didn’t sign a single player in the early signing period that began Dec. 18. Considering they went nearly three weeks without a coach, that’s not all that surprising.
That, Gonzales said, will soon change. He had at least two prospective candidates for his coaching staff in Albuquerque last weekend and hopes to make an announcement on at least some of his staff after the New Year’s holiday.
“I for sure can’t name anybody until Dec. 28 because our [human resources] department is shut down for Christmas,” Gonzales said. “It’ll probably have to wait to put any names out there until [Jan. 2 or 3].”
The Lobos had 26 seniors on last season’s roster, plus a number of other younger players who are not expected to return for various reasons.
The early signing period lasted just three days, ending Dec. 20. Coaches are allowed to contact recruits until Feb. 1 with a prolonged signing period set between Feb. 5 and April 1. Coaches are not allowed to have any contact with recruits in February unless they have signed a National Letter of Intent.
An evaluation period where coaches can
observe and evaluate a player’s ability without direct recruitment will be held between April 15 and May 31.
There is no timetable for Gonzales
to hire his staff, although he is expected to fill at least nine full-time positions. He would not say if he planned to retain any of previous head coach Bob Davie’s assistants.
At the behest of Gonzales himself, athletic director Eddie Nuñez said part of Gonzales’ five-year, $700,000 contract agreement came with a smaller base salary so that some of the funds the university was willing to pay dropped into a salary pool for would-be assistants.
Davie was making approximately $850,000 after media obligations and ancillary benefits were added in.
The Lobos will conduct spring practices at some point in the next semester. Davie generally held the month-long practice period in February and March.
The 2020 season opener is scheduled for Aug. 29 at home against Idaho State.