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UNM Football: New Mexico Bowl on mind of Tulane's new coach

By Iliana Limón
Tuesday, December 12, 2006

New Mexico Bowl

Matchup: New Mexico (6-6) vs. San Jose State (8-4)

Game time: 2:30 p.m. Dec. 23

Site: University Stadium

On the air: ESPN; KKOB-AM (770) with Mike Roberts and Greg Remington

Tickets: Range from $15 for students to $30 for general admission with family packages available. Tickets can be purchased at the UNM Ticket Office at the southeast corner of The Pit or online at newmexicobowl.com.

The post-Bob Toledo era is on the horizon, but the University of New Mexico football team has to focus on the short term.

Toledo will pace the sidelines for the New Mexico Bowl, his final game as the Lobos' offensive coordinator before jumping to his new job as Tulane's head coach.

He was introduced as the Green Wave's new coach during a news conference in New Orleans on Monday afternoon.

Toledo said he will coach the Lobos through the bowl game but will be spending some time recruiting for Tulane by phone and may return to New Orleans this weekend to work with the program.

UNM head coach Rocky Long said he wanted to give returning players a few days to let the news sink in before commenting on the future.

In the meantime, Long said he is assembling a list of possible replacements but won't make any big decisions until after the New Mexico Bowl.

"Our main focus right now has to be the bowl game," Long said.

He said he will take advantage of a national coaching convention during the first week of January to interview candidates. Long said he will seek coaches who run the West Coast style offense Toledo installed this year.

"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."

UNM wide receivers coach Dan Dodd, who was the Lobos' offensive coordinator until Toledo took over this year, is among the potential candidates for the job. Long did not add any other names to the list Monday.

Senior quarterback Kole McKamey, who is petitioning the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility, is arguably the player hardest hit by Toledo's departure. If he wins his petition and still opts to return, McKamey could be learning his fourth new offense in four years.

McKamey was not at Monday's practice and also was not available for comment.

Several UNM seniors, however, did talk about Toledo's impending departure.

They said they should not have any trouble focusing on their bowl showdown with San Jose State on Dec. 23 and saw a promising future for the UNM offense.

"I have one game left and then I'm out of here, but I am really committed to wining this bowl game, and I don't think this will be a distraction for us," senior backup quarterback Chris Nelson said. "We know we'll have the same offense for the bowl game and it should be easy to pick up our game plan."

Senior offensive lineman Robert Turner said Toledo meant a lot to the team, but his new job won't change the team's future.

"It's kind of like when you lose a quarterback. You feel a little bad about it, but the backup goes in and you move on," Turner said. "It's hard for me to say because I'm done after the bowl game, but I don't think it's going to affect the team very much. The core of our program and what we're all about is still here."

The UNM offense has been erratic this season, but the trouble has been chalked up to the time required to learn Toledo's offense and cycling through three starting quarterbacks.

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.

Toledo was fired in 2002 after the Bruins went 7-5. UCLA Athletics Director Dan Guerrero said the football program, which was marred by controversy, was not headed in the right direction.

He spent four years out of coaching before Long, Toledo's former defensive coordinator at UCLA, offered him a job at UNM.

Toledo, 60, had been passed up for several head coaching jobs after his stint at UCLA, including the San Diego State job that went to former Oklahoma assistant coach Chuck Long.

"This wasn't really a big surprise," UNM coach Rocky 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 wished he would have lasted two years here."