ROCKY’S RETURN
Former Lobos head coach Long is hired by Gonzales as defensive coordinator
ALBUQUERQUE — The homecoming party is still going strong at the University of New Mexico.
Football coach Danny Gonzales announced Monday the hiring of former Lobo player and head coach Rocky Long as defensive coordinator, bringing back the man whose name has been linked to Lobo football for more than 50 years.
Gonzales posted the move on his personal Twitter account just after 8 a.m., then flew out of town on a recruiting trip.
“I’m tremendously excited to have Rocky Long back at New Mexico,” Gonzales said in a news release. “Coach Long’s teams at both UNM and San Diego State were known for their defense, and I don’t think there is a better defensive coach in the country. We are lucky to him back with our program. It’s very exciting.”
Long was given a two-year contract through the 2021 season. UNM deputy athletic director David Williams said Long will make $250,000 in 2020 and get a 20-percent increase up to $300,000 the following year.
Long, who will also coach linebackers, resigned as San Diego State’s head coach Jan. 8 and was rumored to be in line for a number of defensive coordinator positions around the country, notably the opening at Syracuse. But his connection to UNM — he was a starting quarterback for the Lobos in the early
1970s — fueled weeks of speculation about a potential return.
Long’s 10-year term as UNM’s head coach from 1998-2008 ended on a sour note. He abruptly left the program after a 4-8 season, which led to rumors that he was pushed out by former Lobos athletic director Paul Krebs.
Gonzales had said since his Dec. 17 hiring that he would serve as head coach and defensive coordinator, and assign one of his other assistants to coach linebackers. But Long became available shortly after leading San Diego State to a win in the New Mexico Bowl last month when he stepped down two weeks later.
“I had to go to him and sell him on what we wanted to do here,” Gonzales said. “For sure I was after him. I mean, how could I not be? I’ve learned so much from him in the last 20 years or so. He built a great thing here and all this time later I’m still learning from him.”
Long, who turned 70 Monday, is the winningest coach in the history of the Mountain West Conference, as well as the University of New Mexico. He led the Lobos to five bowl games and had SDSU in the postseason every year he was with the Aztecs. He was 65-69 at UNM and 81-38 at San Diego State.
In 2018, he agreed to a contract extension that would have kept him at SDSU through the 2022 season, with an annual salary of $872,576, before he opted out. Terms of his contract as a UNM assistant have not been released, although the program’s highest-paid assistant last season was then-o≠ensive coordinator Joe Dailey at $225,000.
Regarded as a defensive innovator, Long created a free-roaming scheme for the defense’s top player that transformed Brian Urlacher, who came to UNM as a barely recruited graduate of Lovington High School, into a college All-American and pro football Hall of Fame linebacker with the Chicago Bears.
Long named the position the
“Lobo” while at UNM but also championed that scheme at SDSU. It helped transform the Aztecs into one of the top defensive teams in the Mountain West and the country.
Gonzales was SDSU’s defensive coordinator in 2016 and took Long’s philosophy with him when hired as Arizona State’s defensive coordinator in 2017. The Sun Devils’ defense was one of the most improved units in the Pac-12 during his two years there.
Gonzales played briefly for Long at UNM. A walk-on from Valley High School in Albuquerque, he played his final season under Long in 1998.
He credits Long for talking him out of a job in the banking industry and into a spot on his sta≠ as a graduate assistant following his
playing days.
The two have remained close friends over the years, fostering a relationship that has lasted for half of Gonzales’ life.
UNM athletic director Eddie Nuñez said Long was instrumental during a national job search after previous head coach Bob Davie was fired in November. Nuñez sought Long’s advice multiple times and the recommendation always came back the same: Gonzales.
When Long was with SDSU in Albuquerque for the New Mexico Bowl last month, he said UNM made the perfect hire by bringing Gonzales home.
“It’s a process here. Winning’s a process that requires someone who understands what it takes to be successful here,” Long said before the bowl game. “There aren’t many people who understand that more than Danny Gonzales, and folks around here should be plenty happy to have him back.”
Long, who could not be reached for comment Monday, was in town last weekend as UNM hosted a number of recruits on o∞cial visits. But Gonzales said Long will likely wait until after Wednesday night’s men’s basketball game in The Pit to make his first public appearance for the Lobos.
“If we weren’t playing San Diego State I’m sure Rocky would be out there saying hello to people, but really it’s too soon,” Gonzales said. “Can’t blame him for that.”