On Mountain High: Locksley canned on eve of Rio Grande Rivalry

It’s a quiet weekend on the Mountain West front this week; three teams have the week off – San Diego State, Wyoming and UNLV. With big games like Alabama – Florida and Clemson – Virginia Tech and Wisconsin – Nebraska on the college football docket tomorrow, it’s a relatively low-profile week in the Mountain West.

Low-profile on the field, but quite the opposite off the field.

On Sunday, one day after losing to Sam Houston State in overtime 46-45 in front of only 16,313 people – the smallest home crowd in nearly two decades – New Mexico fired embattled head football coach Mike Locksley. The mid-season firing is the first college coaching change of the season.

On the eve of New Mexico’s rivalry game against New Mexico State, the Lobos parted way with a coach who went 2-26 in a tenure that lasted less than three season. Prior to Locksley’s hiring, New Mexico had won five-straight games in the Rio Grande Rivalry. They’ve now lost two-in-a-row, 20-17 in 2009 and 16-14 in 2010.

When Locksley was signed to a 6-year contract in 2008 worth $750,000, he was tasked with turning around a program that won only four games in 2008 in following a nine-win season in 2007 that ended with a New Mexico Bowl victory over Nevada.

Locksley took over for current San Diego State head coach Rocky Long, who coached for 11 seasons at his Alma Mater. Now, Long is continuing the rebuilding process started by Brady Hoke in 2008.

For Lobo interim head coach George Barlow, his first task is beating rival New Mexico St. this weekend, but whether he is allowed to continue the task of rebuilding the New Mexico program will remain to be seen.

Currently, the majority of New Mexico’s roster is comprised of Locksley recruits – most of which had close relationships with their head coach. But, moving forward, the search committee tasked with finding New Mexico’s 30th head coach can’t just think of what is best for the current crop of players, it must also think of what is best long-term.

In coaching hires, a first impression generally goes a long way because teams often look to fill a position as quickly as possible to not lose valuable recruiting time. That being said, rebuilding a college football program takes time, and thus the search committee should not be afraid to spend a little more time on the search.

In my football career, I have been on two teams – Seattle Prep and Western Washington – that have gone through coaching changes. In high school, our coach resigned a few weeks before my junior season and a quick scramble resulted in the hiring of our defensive coordinator and long-time assistant.

Initially, it was the move the players wanted. In the long-run, however, it didn’t bode well for the Seattle Prep program. While I wasn’t involved in the hiring, obviously, I imagine the pressure of the pending season and player pressure resulted in a quick hiring and no search for a long-term replacement.

In my opinion, the assistant who took over was a great coach but just wasn’t ready to head a program full-time. The Seattle Prep program struggled through his six-year tenure and didn’t see success on the field until another coaching change was made.

At Western Washington, our long-time coach Rob Smith retired after 19-seasons when I was a freshman. A quick coaching search produced a couple viable candidates, one of whom was Robin Ross.

I remember when Ross first met with our team prior to his hiring. His coaching pedigree stood out immediately to a group of Division II players. Assistant coaching stints at major Division I programs like Oregon and Oregon State. A linebacker coaching stint with the Oakland Raiders under John Gruden. It seemed too good to be true. Following that meeting we were all convinced. We wanted Ross to head our program.

Ross’ pedigree might have be great, but it contained no head coaching experience. It took three years before we had a winning season, a 6-5 record in 2008 – the program’s final year. At the time, Ross’ hiring might’ve made sense. But, in the long run, he didn’t have the program-building experience needed for a struggling program.

Since that nine-win season in 2007, New Mexico has fallen not just to the bottom of the Mountain West Conference, but to the bottom of the FBS as well. Climbing out of the cellar is not going to be an easy task. Following this season, the New Mexico search committee needs to think long and hard about whom they chose to give that task.

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I must admit an egregious error in last week’s picks. I may have posted my first winning record at 4-3, but I left off Air Force’s game against Tennessee State and that brings me back to an even 4-4. Through four weeks, my record stands at 11-15. I’ll admit what you’re all thinking, I need to step it up.

Air Force (+3.5) at Navy
Pick: It’s the battle of the triple-option. Both teams boast a stellar run game heading in to this match up, but one team has a clear benefit – the home team. It’s never easy traveling to the East Coast, particularly when the game kicks off at noon. I envision this causing the Falcons to get out to a slow start.
Air Force loses/covers 34-31

Nevada at Boise State (-27.5)
Pick: Nobody has to remind the Broncos what happened last year with national title hopes on the line. Getting the Wolfpack at home with a chance to enact revenge, I don’t see Boise State losing to Nevada two years in a row.
Boise wins/covers 42-14

San Jose State at Colorado State (-4)
Pick: I was high on Colorado State’s prospects heading in to the season. At 3-1 heading in to this meeting with the Spartans, the Rams haven’t yet disappointed. I think this line is far too close for a game I expect the Rams to win easily.
Colorado State wins/covers 38-17

SMU at TCU (-13)
Pick: TCU has struggled so far this year when going against a spread passing offense. First the loss to Baylor to open the season and then a 17-point first quarter for Louisiana-Monroe two weeks later. Against the June Jones spread attack at SMU, I see the Horned Frogs struggling once again.
TCU win/doesn’t cover 35-27

New Mexico State vs. New Mexico (pick ’em)
Pick: It’s the first game for interim head coach George Barlow after the dismissal of Locksley. If Barlow hopes to be the Lobos’ coach long-term, a win in the Rio Grande Rivalry is necessary. Although the Lobos have lost two in a row to their in-state rivals, I see them getting back on the winning track this week.
New Mexico wins/covers 28-27