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UNM Football: Toledo accepts Tulane position

Offensive coordinator to coach Lobos through bowl game

By Iliana Limón
Monday, December 11, 2006

University of New Mexico offensive coordinator Bob Toledo will be named the new Tulane head coach, according to Lobos coach Rocky Long.

Toledo will be introduced as Tulane's new football coach at a news conference tonight, then will return to Albuquerque to coach the Lobos in the New Mexico Bowl.

“This wasn’t really a big surprise,” Long said. “I knew that when I coaxed him out of retirement, he would get a lot of offers as soon as we had any kind of success. I knew people would be interested in him, and this job just worked out for him. I’m not surprised, I just wish he would have lasted two years here.”

Toledo, who also held the title of assistant head coach during his first year at UNM, was previously head coach at UCLA.

His name was tied to numerous head coaching vacancies during the past two weeks after the Lobos went 6-6 and earned a spot in the inaugural New Mexico Bowl.

A Tulane athletics official confirmed Toledo is taking the job and will be introduced during a news conference at 5:30 p.m. today.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune and ESPN.com also reported on their Web sites this morning that Toledo is taking the Tulane job, citing unidentified sources. Toledo could not be reached for comment today.

Toledo told The Tribune early last week he had not been contacted about any head coaching vacancies but was keeping his options open. “Rocky knows if the right job came along for a lot more money, I’d have to consider it,” Toledo told The Tribune. “When you’ve been out of coaching for a while and you get a second chance, you tend to take advantage of it.”

Toledo would replace former Tulane coach Chris Scelfo, who was fired Nov. 28 after going 37-57 in eight seasons. Tulane went 4-8 this year and returned to the Louisiana Superdome after being displaced by Hurricane Katrina but didn’t enjoy the success or fan support doted on the New Orleans Saints.

Long said he is assembling a list of possible replacements for Toledo, but he won’t make a decision until after the bowl game. He said he plans to interview candidates during national football coaching conventions during the first week of January.

“Right now I’m going to be focusing on the bowl game,” Long said. “We’ll be meeting with the players today to talk about coach Toledo’s promotion, the future and hopefully get them to focus on the bowl game, too.”

The Lobos have run three different offenses the past three seasons, so Long said he will search for a new offensive coordinator who will run an offense similar to Toledo’s West Coast style attack.

“I want the most qualified guy for the job, but I do hope we can keep a similar scheme,” Long said. “I don’t want the players to have to start learning a whole new offense.”

Long said he does not think losing Toledo will impact UNM’s current recruiting class, whose oral commitments aren’t binding until they sign letters of intent in February.

“I don’t think it will affect anyone, except the quarterbacks,” Long said. “I already talked to two quarterbacks who committed to us and they’re fine.”

Long, who was Toledo’s defensive coordinator at UCLA, hired Toledo to jumpstart UNM’s struggling offense and infuse the football program with new energy following a disappointing 6-5 finish in 2005.

Toledo had been out of coaching for the three years before he took the UNM assistant coach and offensive coordinator job.

Toledo installed a modified West Coast offense. The Lobos reached six wins despite cycling through three quarterbacks, including the loss of senior starter Kole McKamey during the second game.

UNM averaged 312 yards total offense per game, and sophomore running back Rodney Ferguson amassed 1,132 rushing yards this season. Three of Toledo’s players earned first team All-Mountain West Conference honors.

Before joining the UNM staff, Toledo posted a 49-32 record as the UCLA head football coach from 1996-2002. He led the Bruins to four bowl appearances and two Pacific-10 titles. He also mounted a 20-game winning streak and dominated the rivalry with USC.

UCLA Athletics Director Dan Guerrero fired Toledo in 2002 after the Bruins went 7-5.