NCAA Football FanHouse

New Mexico Suspends Locksley

Terrance Harris — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:39:00 EST

New Mexico football coach Mike Locksley was suspended for one game and will be on unpaid leave for 10 days for his role in an altercation with an assistant coach last month, the school announced Tuesday afternoon.

Locksley will be suspended for the Oct. 24 game against UNLV and will not be allowed to have anything to do with the team in the week leading up to the Mountain West game. The suspension brings to an end the off-the-field turmoil surrounding Locksley and the 0-6 Lobos for weeks.

In addition to the confrontation with wide receivers coach J.B. Gerald Sept. 20 in the coaches offices, Locksley was also under fire because of a sexual harassment/age discrimation claim filed with the EEOC by a long-time office worker. The school announced on Monday that claim had been resolved, though a resolution had been in place days earlier.

When reached earlier Tuesday about the possibility of a suspension, Locksley told FanHouse he was unaware of any forthcoming announcement. But later that day, athletic director Paul Krebs announced the one-game suspension.

"I've been getting a lot of calls from people asking me this and that, but nobody has said anything to me," Locksley said early Tuesday. "I guess we will see."

Locksley has been under investigation by the university the last two weeks in connection with a physical confrontation he had with Gerald, a longtime friend Locksley brought with him from Illinois where he had been the offensive coordinator. The assistant claimed in a police report that Locksley punched him in the face, a claim the head coach denies.

Locksley was originally given a warning and letter of reprimand by athletics director Paul Krebs for the Sept. 20 incident that took place in the coaches offices a day after the Lobos lost to Air Force. But feeling pressure from the community, the UNM Human Resource department picked up the investigation more than a week and half after the incident.

Gerald has not returned to the team since the incident and it's unclear what his future is with the school.

New Mexico Suspends Locksley originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:39:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EEOC Claims Against New Mexico's Mike Locksley Resolved

Terrance Harris — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:10:00 EST

Filed under: New Mexico, Mountain West

Embattled New Mexico coach Mike Locksley has resolved one issue that's been dogging him in his short tenure.

Locksley and longtime office worker Sylvia Lopez have resolved the issues that led to 54-year-old Lopez filing a sexual harassment /age discrimination claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission this past spring against the 39-year-old coach, the school announced Monday. All EEOC claims have been withdrawn.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the resolution was Lopez deeming the whole situation a misunderstanding and refuting the portion that claims sexual harassment in the filing with EEOC. Under the agreement, Lopez keeps her job.

"I truly wish the best for coach Locksley and hope he has a great season, and career with UNM. I regret that this misunderstanding may have created a negative perception of coach Locksley." Sylvia Lopez said in a released statement. "I feel very positive about working for UNM and know I can be an asset to the University because of my years of experience and skills."

UNM vice president for athletics Paul Krebs also expressed relief in the issue that was the first of Locksley's many in Albuquerque.

"We are pleased we could clear the air and everyone involved can move forward in a positive direction," he said in the released statement.

But that is only part of the unrest surrounding Locksley at New Mexico. He is now under investigation by the school's Human Resource department after he and assistant coach J.B. Gerald got into a physical confrontation during a coaches meeting last month. Gerald, whom Locksley brought over with him from Illinois, alleges the head coach punched him.

Locksley, who is also under fire for being 0-6 in his first season as a head coach, denies throwing a punch.

ESPN reported Monday that there is a press conference set for Tuesday to announce the school's findings in the altercation. UNM associate athletic director for communications Greg Remington told FanHouse on Monday that was the first he's heard of a planned press conference.

But at least Locksley has one issue resolved that had been hanging over head and lumped in as a reason for some to cry for his dismissal before his first season is complete.

UNM president David Schmidly and Krebs issued a joint statement Monday pledging their support for Locksley.

"We stand behind Coach Locksley and know that he has performed and continues to perform his job in a professional and respectable manner and will do so in the future," the release said.

EEOC Claims Against New Mexico's Mike Locksley Resolved originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How Push Led to Shove in New Mexico

Terrance Harris — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: New Mexico, Mountain West, Coaching, Police Blotter

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- In a game of inches, none may mean more to Mike Locksley than the ones he didn't take Sept. 20. The first-year New Mexico coach was all but out the door following a heated altercation with wide receivers coach J.B. Gerald, when, he said, he "sort of lost it."

Those inches may wind up costing him everything.

"If I had that moment back ... ," Locksley said to FanHouse in his office Tuesday night. "I was literally walking out the door because I knew I was getting heated and it kept going back and forth. I'm walking out the door and I look over and another word was said and it was set off."

In that moment, he grabbed Gerald, an assistant who had followed him halfway across the country from Illinois. An altercation ensued. When the dust cleared all that was certain was that Gerald had a split lip. And two coaching careers were beginning to unravel, the coda to an argument from earlier in the day, an argument with a decade of history.

More Coverage: Read Police Report

Locksley is in jeopardy of losing his job in his first season as head coach and Gerald, in his first season as a full-time assistant, may be out of coaching permanently.

According to multiple sources who were present Sept. 20, the disagreement began during practice, over an argument about the wide receivers' performance during the 37-13 loss to Air Force the previous day. Locksley let his young assistant have it.

Instead of taking the pointed criticism from his boss and moving on, Gerald fired back.

Gerald told Locksley that not even his mother talks to him that way. Locksley, witnesses said, fired back that his mother wasn't paying Gerald $90,000 a year.
A back-and-forth exchange ensued and both coaches clung to the last word. According to a police report filed by Gerald, Locksley became angry and approached Gerald in an aggressive manner. Gerald told Locksley that not even his mother talks to him that way. Locksley, witnesses said, fired back that his mother wasn't paying Gerald $90,000 a year.

Then after all the harsh words, it was a simple "Whatever" from Gerald that brought Locksley back into the room after he had begun to leave.

Suddenly, Locksley grabbed Gerald by the collar before the other coaches could separate them. Gerald says he was punched in the mouth; the responding officer acknowledged a split lip.

Locksley doesn't dispute grabbing Gerald. He does, however, deny a punch was thrown. Whatever, both men's careers likely changed that day. Gerald has been on paid leave since the incident. Locksley, who is off to an 0-4 start, faces possible termination from his approximately $750,000 a year job after the university's human resources department opened up an investigation Tuesday.

"I wish I had made a different decision," Locksley said. "I got caught up in the moment, but that should never have happened."

Those who know both said it was just the end result of feelings that had been festering between the two for more than a month. According to several sources close to the program, Locksley and Gerald got into a heated exchange Aug. 13 at practice during camp.

As a coach, the 39-year-old Locksley seems far more interested in making sure his point is understood on the field than he is about the delivery. He grilled Gerald in front the players, fellow coaches, media and others. Having a head coach chastise assistants on the field, while awkward and potentially embarrassing, is not uncommon.

What happened next was.

Gerald, a 27-year-old, first-year, full-time assistant, shouted at his head coach with the same type of profanity-laced language he had just absorbed. The exchange eventually died down, but picked back up as practice wound down and Gerald was walking to meet an awaiting reporter.

Locksley declined to discuss the specifics of either exchange.

"In all of my years around here, I had never seen anything like that," said an athletic department source, who wished not to be identified. "It was quite an exchange."

That type of disrespect could have gotten Gerald dismissed, but it didn't because of the history the two share that goes back more than 10 years. Locksley has known the young coach since his days as an assistant coach at Maryland when Gerald was a high school student at DuVal High School in Lanham, Md. Locksley successfully recruited Gerald's best friend, Madieu Williams, to play for the Terps; Gerald went on to play at Colgate.

Years later, Locksley and Gerald became reacquainted as Gerald looked to break into the coaching profession as a graduate assistant at Penn State. At Williams' urging, Locksley became a friend and mentor to Gerald, listening to his desires to speed up his career and offering advice.

Locksley, who by then was the offensive coordinator at Illinois, eventually had an opening for an offensive quality control coach two years ago and offered the job to Gerald, who had spent five years working in various roles on the football staff at Penn State. Gerald worked at Illinois on the staff of Ron Zook for a season before Locksley got the opportunity to be the head coach at New Mexico.

Locksley says because he respected Gerald's skills as a coach and the trust was there, he offered Gerald the position of receivers coach/recruiting coordinator, a highly unusual opportunity for a coach with no full-time experience.

"It was definitely an established relationship. J.B. and I were close," Locksley said. "As I've said, I saw a lot of me in him as a young coach. When I look back, maybe I was too hard on him in that I was being demanding trying to teach him how to do it."

Certainly the risk Locksley took on with a young unproven coach doesn't seem worth it now.

"I saw a lot of me in him as a young coach. When I look back, maybe I was too hard on him.
-- Mike Locksley"
"I thought because of our relationship that we may be able to work through it," said Locksley, who is also dealing with an EEOC complaint of sexual harassment and age discrimination filed by former 54-year-old office worker, Sylvia Lopez. "Unfortunately it's happened, it should never have happened. But I also know in this business, I've been a part of where it has happened and guys understand it's like family sometimes.

"We work long hours, the frustration of losing, the long hours. I have to admit I had a lot on my plate, especially with the other incident. Things were going on and it was kind of a buildup. I lost it. You never make decisions out of frustration. That's what it boiled down to."

The end result is both coaches' futures are in doubt. The local media has grilled Locksley, saying this latest incident is further proof he isn't ready to be a head coach of an FBS program. The radio sports call-in shows and message boards have been even harsher with most arguments boiling down to this question: Where else could a boss punch his employee and still keep his job?

"Some people think he should have been suspended a game or two, some people think the reprimand was enough and then you have a couple people that are kind of out there, he should be fired," said Leeroy Lucero, who co-hosts a postgame radio show in Albuquerque as well as writes for the theredmenace.com. "I don't believe the majority want to see him fired, but there are a couple vocal people that do."

As much trouble as Locksley's career may be in, Gerald's could be in more. A few former and current head coaches have said privately that Gerald violated trust by going to police first without trying to have the dispute handled internally.

Gerald, however, is just a dissertation short of receiving a PhD. in educational leadership from Penn State so his future could be outside of coaching.

He has hinted he may want to return to New Mexico, where the door has been left open. Gerald told FanHouse in a brief conversation Tuesday night that he was considering returning to his job, therefore he did not wish to discuss the ordeal in the media.

But in this world of high-pressure, high-stakes athletics, time is ticking on a possible return to the Lobos staff. Graduate assistant Aaron Moorehead has taken over coaching receivers in Gerald's absence.

"We'd like to have J.B. back as part of the staff," New Mexico athletic director Paul Krebs told FanHouse. "We're basically at a point where he is either going to have to come back or we are going to have to put him on reassignment to another area. We are at a point where we need to know which way is he going to go."

Krebs would certainly like to see Locksley be given more time, but admits that may be out of his hands. Depending on what the human resources department finds in its investigation of the ordeal, Locksley could be either suspended or fired. The school conduct code for employees certainly seems to support termination for work place violence. A firing with cause would likely mean Locksley's salary ends on the last day of his employment with the university.

So far Gerald hasn't talked to anyone beyond filing the police report and to this point has declined to press charges against Locksley.

Krebs placed a letter of reprimand in Locksley's file on Monday, but most believe that was a mere slap on the wrist. The final decision on punishment will likely come from the president's office.

"As we stand here today is his job in jeopardy? No," Krebs said. "Based on what I know, what I've seen and what I continue to see, his job is not in jeopardy. But I think it's important to say this is a mistake that can't happen again. It's a mistake he needs to learn from and if he has the kind of leadership skills that I think he has, he will use this as a springboard and he will look back on it one day and remember the struggle of year one.

"But he's got to learn from it and move forward and there can't be no repetition."

The word pressure had been thrown around quite a bit to perhaps explain the emotion that could have led to the blowup Sept. 20. Fans and alumni have already been down on Locksley and his staff after a lackluster showing in the first four games of the regime, which includes troubling losses to Tulsa, Air Force and in-state rival New Mexico State in addition to defeat against Texas A&M in the season opener. New Mexico travels to Lubbock, Texas, this weekend to take on Texas Tech.

Locksley inherited just three returning starters on defense from last year's 4-8 squad, and openly admits his best players are sophomores and redshirt freshmen. Four games in, it's obvious the quick fix Lobo fans hoped for isn't going to happen.

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In this Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009, photo, Tulsa quarterback Jacob Bower, right, is tackled by Oklahoma's Jeremy Beal, center, as Adrian Taylor, left, looks on during an NCAA college football game in Norman, Okla. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

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In thies Sept. 26, 2009 photo, Michigan safety Jordan Kovacs pushes Indiana running back Darius Willis (28) out of bounds during an NCAA college football game in Ann Arbor, Mich. Kovacs, a redshirt freshman, is one of a number of walk-ons who are seeing significant playing time for the Wolverines this season. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

In this Sept. 26, 2009 photo, Michigan safety Jordan Kovacs (32) is seen after a tackle during an NCAA college football game against Indiana in Ann Arbor, Mich. Kovacs, a redshirt freshman, is one of a number of walk-ons who are seeing significant playing time for the Wolverines this season. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

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In this photo taken on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009, Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen (7) pitches the football as guard Chris Stewart (59) and center Eric Olsen (55) block during the fourth quarter of an NCAA football game against Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind. Notre Dame won 24-21. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

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"We probably didn't prepare the community for the rebuilding job that awaited him," Krebs admits. "I think there was expectation that we had enough talent that he was going to come in and make this conversion to a new scheme on offense and defense and kind of get back to some of the better years (former coach Rocky Long) had.

"But the reality is we were a 4-8 team ... and our talent really has not fit this scheme. So we are really going through a growing process, probably more traumatic than our community realizes. I think they were a little bit prepared for what's happened."

At least one source with intimate knowledge of the New Mexico program, however, pinpoints the inexperience of Locksley's staff, especially on offense, for some of the struggles.

In addition to Gerald, centers and guards coach Mike Degory and quarterbacks coach Tee Martin, the former national championship quarterback at Tennessee, are in their first seasons as full-time assistant coaches at the FBS level. Offensive tackles and tight ends coach Cheston Blackshere spent the previous three years at Columbia University after spending 2005 working as Locksley's graduate assistant at Illinois.

The Lobos rank 118th out of 120 schools in total offense after producing just 262.0 yards of offense per game and only five offensive touchdowns in the first four games.

"There is one thing to bring in guys you trust, but at this level you have to have experienced coaches," said a coach with knowledge of the situation. "You can maybe get away with one inexperienced coach but not four at such critical positions."

Krebs defends his coach and the staff he put together.

"I believe in the guy," he said. "I think he has the makings of a great head coach, I think he is a good teacher, he's surrounded himself with good stuff, they are recruiting well. I like the accountability they are instilling in the program; I like the culture change they are instilling.

"But when you are 0-4 and you've had these marks, people are questioning his leadership and I understand that. I think we have to hold tight and look forward to better days."

The question is whether Locksley will be around to enjoy them. Krebs certainly seems to hope so.

Should Locksley fail so quickly and with so much controversy, it's unlikely he would get another head coaching shot anytime soon.

"He needs a champion. Nobody is taking his side in this," Krebs said. "The local press is beating him in this. I think the guy has a chance to be a great head coach. I think he's got a lot of skill. It needs some refinement but he's got a lot of ability. He knows this is his shot. I want to make sure he is given a fair shot, he's given a fair chance to succeed like I think he can.

"Our struggles have compounded some mistakes he's made, probably heightened the tension if you will."

All because of ... Whatever.

How Push Led to Shove in New Mexico originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Locksley Disputes Punch to Assistant's Face, HR Begins Investigation

Terrance Harris — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:15:00 EST

Filed under: New Mexico, Mountain West, Police Blotter

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- The University of New Mexico athletic department has turned the incident involving head coach Mike Locksley and his assistant coach J.B. Gerald over to the university's human resources department, athletic director Paul Krebs said Tuesday.

Gerald filed a police report Sept. 20, claiming that Locksley punched him in the face and split his lip following an argument during a staff meeting. News of the altercation began seeping out slowly the following day, but it became an avalanche this week as the school opened up about the incident.

Locksley has not shied away and he has admitted his mistake to his team, Gerald, Krebs and the media. Locksley and Krebs dispute the fact Gerald was punched in the face, citing no witness accounts. Still, they realize it all looks bad on the first-time head coach, his program and the university.

Locksley, who is in his first season as head coach of the Lobos, was given a letter of reprimand for his part in the altercation. Gerald, who has been on paid leave, has shown no interest in pressing charges.

But with the heat the athletic department continues to take for its perceived slap on the wrist to Locksley, the department decided to ask the HR department to investigate the incident. Depending on what the department finds in its investigation, Locksley could face suspension or dismissal. It is likely, however, that it will be determined that the athletic department handled things appropriately.

"They just announced this afternoon that, following the university policy manual, our HR department, with our full support and cooperation, is going to look into the matter further," Krebs told FanHouse on Tuesday while watching football practice, "so we can get to the bottom of it, address it and move on."

To this point, it has been the issue that just won't go away. Krebs has been upfront about his disappointment in the decision his coach made to put his hands on another coach.

"I wish I had chance to do it all over again," Locksley told FanHouse while sitting in his office Tuesday night. "I would definitely make a different decision."

The Lobos are 0-4 heading into a non-conference game Saturday at Texas Tech.

But Locksley's issues are greater than wins and losses. Since being hired last December, he has now been involved in two off-the-field incidents that have brought undo spotlight on the athletic department. In May a 54-year-old former office worker filed a sexual harassment/age discrimination complaint with the EEOC against the 39-year-old coach.

That case is still pending and is heading into mediation. But on the heels of that comes the altercation with Gerald. Combine those incidents with the fact the Lobos haven't played well this season and it has spelled trouble early in Locksley's tenure.

But both Locksley and Krebs take issue with the lumping of the sexual harassment/age discrimination claim together with the latest incident.

"I take full responsibility as the leader of the program for the distraction that I've caused," Locksley said. "It's unfair that people like to piggyback it to an earlier incident that is working itself through the process. For us, we've put it behind us as a program and we're just moving forward and the best thing I know to do is to focus on the football because when it's ultimately said and done, the bottom line is I've got to find ways to win ballgames."

Krebs certainly agrees.

"I think it's compounded by the fact we are 0-4. If we were 3-1, I think people would look at it much differently," he said. "The bottom line is he was wrong, but has it threatened my trust in his leadership? I still think he is a very good football coach, he's surrounded himself with a very outstanding staff. They are recruiting like heck, they are coaching these guys up. I think the future is bright. We've got to weather this year and turn the page."

Making it difficult right now is the latest issue hanging over the program. Gerald hasn't said whether he will return to the program or not. But when FanHouse reached him Tuesday night, he indicated that he was considering a return for his players' sake.

Gerald, 27, is in his first full-time assistant coaching role after Locksley brought him over from Illinois. Locksley was Illinois' offensive coordinator when he hired Gerald as his graduate assistant after he had spent time as graduate assistant at Penn State.

Gerald declined to talk to FanHouse further on Tuesday night.

"There is a history there, I think a love and respect for one another," Krebs said. "So this has been a very emotional issue on both sides.

"It's unfortunate that it happened, it's happened, we're trying to deal with it and be respectful to all parties and continue to manage a football team and recognize that coach Locksley's career -- I don't want to say is at stake in this instance -- but there has already been enough turmoil in his tenure as a head coach that we've got to put all of this noise behind us and begin about rebuilding our football program."

Locksley Disputes Punch to Assistant's Face, HR Begins Investigation originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Mexico Coach Mike Locksley Acknowledges Altercation With Assistant

Brian Grummell — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:24:00 EST

Filed under: New Mexico, General CFB Insanity

New Mexico coach Mike Locksley released a statement Monday acknowledging an altercation with wide receivers coach Jonathan "J.B." Gerald. Locksley allegedly punched him in the face during a team meeting last Sunday. ESPN says that a police report indicates that during the meeting Locksley grabbed Gerald by the collar, and then punched him in the mouth.

Gerald refused to press charges, but allowed the incident to be part of a police report. Locksley is a first-year coach, hired from Illinois to replace Rocky Long after he resigned following a 4-8 season. The Lobos are winless this year, and have struggled with Locksley's specialty, offense. The incident happened the day after a 37-13 loss to Air Force.

Locksley's statement was as follows:

"I apologized to Coach Gerald, the coaching staff and our team for my poor judgment. I would also like to apologize to Lobo fans. Our focus is now preparing to play a very good Texas Tech team Saturday in Lubbock. Like I remind our players, when mistakes are made, you acknowledge them and deal with the consequences.

Locksley was verbally reprimanded by the school and a letter was placed in his permanent file.

This was Locksley's second off-field incident since New Mexico hired him in December. Sylvia Lopez, a former football administrative assistant, accused the first-year coach of age discrimination and sexual harassment in a complaint filed to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in April.

Locksley sued Lopez's lawyer, Whitney Warner, for defamation of character in August after the lawyer made the complaint public.

New Mexico Coach Mike Locksley Acknowledges Altercation With Assistant originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:24:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Mexico Hires Illinois' Mike Locksley; Ron Zook Understates Something for Once

Mark Hasty — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Illinois, New Mexico, Mountain West, Coaching

If you follow the coaching carousel at all, you already know the name Mike Locksley. He's been on everybody's "coordinators to watch" list for a couple seasons now, and he's been connected with almost as many jobs as Lane Kiffin and Will Muschamp.

Well, Ron Zook's offensive coordinator is headed to the Southwest. Monday, the University of New Mexico named him as their new head football coach. Locksley was due for a head coaching gig. While Illinois football this year had all the consistency of failed custard, the Illini offense got the job done. Locksley is also known as a top-notch recruiter, which had to please Paul Krebs, the Lobos' sheriff.

Locksley's hiring increases the number of African American head coaches in the Football Bowl Subdivision from three to four. To put that in perspective, before yesterday one-fortieth of FBS programs had an African American head coach; now, one-thirtieth of them do. That's progress, but it's still a drop from the start of this past season, when we were all the way up to one-twentieth.

Time will tell how this move works out for the Lobos, but Locksley has a solid resume. The real question, however, is "What does this mean for Illinois?"

The people of Illinois probably have other things on their minds right now, but unless Ron Zook can come up with a new coordinator of equal quality, Illini faithful have to be concerned. Juice Williams, to the best of my Google-fu, hasn't said whether he's thinking about entering the NFL draft. You could understand, though, that he might not be enthusiastic about learning a new offensive system in what is supposed to be his showcase season.

Zook was publicly enthusiastic yesterday about Locksley's new opportunity:

''I'm very excited for Mike to have this opportunity,'' said Illinois coach Ron Zook, who had thought he might lose Locksley last winter. ''He's ready to take this next step. Locks is the whole package. He can coach, he can recruit and he can motivate his players. He did a tremendous job with our offense here and will be missed.''

Darn right he'll be missed. The arcade-game offense was about the only thing the Illini had going for them this season, and the list of players Locksley personally recruited to Champaign includes Arrelious Benn and Vontae Davis. Locksley is going to be hard to replace, and Zook would like to have something more to show for four years of Juice Williams than just an awful, lopsided Rose Bowl loss to USC.

The Illini fans would probably like to see a little more than Zook showed them this season, too.

New Mexico Hires Illinois' Mike Locksley; Ron Zook Understates Something for Once originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 09 Dec 2008 17:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Football Coach, Alum Rocky Long Steps Down at New Mexico

Brian Grummell — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:59:00 EST

Filed under: New Mexico, WAC, Coaching, General CFB Insanity

College football's midseason bloodbath of coaching changes continues today with news that former Lobo player turned coach Rocky Long will step down from the New Mexico head football job effective immediately. The decision came as a shock to the New Mexico athletic director. Read this quote and try not to scratch your head:

"It's a sad day for New Mexico football that Coach Long will no longer be our leader," [Athletic Director Paul] Krebs said. "In my opinion, Rocky's 11-year tenure is the best 11 years in the history of our football program."

Besides having an awesome football name, Rocky Long did some legitimately good things at New Mexico in taking them to five bowl games -- with just one win mind you but a party is a party and who doesn't love a postseason chance to party?

Whats interesting is that Long stepped out of the usual guarded state most coaches are in to deliver a series of blunt statements.

Regarding why he left, he actually admitted to doing a "terrible job".

"In 2005, we did a terrible job of coaching and this year we did a terrible job of coaching," he said. "Other than that, I think our staff, our players have been overachievers every other year."

Well we appreciate the honesty, I guess? Problem is this makes him sound like a bit of a loose cannon.

As a writer we eat this stuff up but bosses have to be a little leery, be it athletic directors who may hire him down the road or head coaches in need of another coordinator or position coach. He did say upon leaving that he felt his departure would give the program a "chance to get better". Sort of an honorable, fall-on-the-sword kind of thing that most of us probably respect and couldn't pull off. But its curious.

Long also took a shot at casual fans on the way out. According to the AP writer, Long:

[T]hanked "loyal fans" for their enduring support and fawned over Albuquerque's high quality of life. Then he became angry, saying casual fans need to get involved and show more passion for the Lobos.

"If you want to compete with the big boys, you've got to act like it," Long said.

Football Coach, Alum Rocky Long Steps Down at New Mexico originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:59:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BYU Just Wants All Poll Voters to Focus on the Final Score

Chas Rich — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:17:00 EST

Filed under: Brigham Young, New Mexico, Mountain West

BYU beat New Mexico 21-3 in Provo, and they hope that most voters don't get the Mtn Network. The Cougars struggled most of the game against the very average Lobos. At halftime, it was only 7-3 in favor of BYU, and it wasn't until late in the 4th quarter that they salted the game away.

BYU's offense gets most of the attention, but in this game it was their defense that led the Cougars. They held the second leading rusher in the Mountain West, Rodney Ferguson, to 90 yards on 28 carries.

As it got into the 4th quarter, New Mexico put together its best drive. It looked like they scored to bring the game to within 5 points pending the extra point. Instead, the play was nullified by a very questionable block in the back call that was behind the play.

New Mexico turned the ball over on downs and BYU to their credit drove it 76 yards for the score to put the game out of reach. Still, for the high scoring BYU team, this was their lowest scoring output of the season.

BYU Just Wants All Poll Voters to Focus on the Final Score originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:17:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Mexico Turns Down Seven Figures to Avoid Screwing Fans

Chas Rich — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:42:00 EST

Filed under: New Mexico, Texas A&M, Big 12, Mountain West, General CFB Insanity

This doesn't happen everyday in college football. New Mexico was offered $1.8 million dollars to move its home game with Texas A&M this fall to a "neutral" site in San Antonio, Texas by an unnamed third-party. Surprisingly enough, New Mexico would rather give the fans in Albuquerque a chance to cheer for their team in a home setting.

"We have to develop our fan base," [New Mexico Athletic Director Paul] Krebs said. "Moving the game to San Antonio, I think, would sell out our fans, would be a decision made purely for economic reasons. I think it sends the wrong message to our fans and to our football program."

An unidentified third party approached New Mexico at the end of the 2006 season, just after the school had signed a home-and-home contract with the Aggies, and offered the Lobos $1.5 million to move the game.

The offer kept going up, but New Mexico kept saying no.

San Antonio is some 817 miles from Albuquerque and only 170 miles from College Station, so it was hardly a neutral site in any sense of the word. It may have been a third-party that contacted New Mexico, but it was definitely with Texas A&M's interest in mind.

In a rare twist of BCS schools scheduling with a non-BCS school, the Aggies actually travel to New Mexico first with the Lobos coming to College Station in 2009 (which neatly avoids any last minute buyout surprises for New Mexico). This arrangement would explain why another party came in with the offer to move the game into Texas.

New Mexico Turns Down Seven Figures to Avoid Screwing Fans originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:42:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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