New Mexico fires football coach Danny Gonzales after four seasons

Nov. 25—ALBUQUERQUE — Once hailed as the perfect hire at the just the right time for the University of New Mexico, football coach Danny Gonzales found himself packing up his office and heading for the unemployment line Saturday.

Barely 24 hours after he coached the Lobos in a double-overtime home loss against Utah State, the Albuquerque native and former UNM walk-on has been relieved of his duties as head football coach effective immediately. He was four years into a five-year contract. The buyout on the final year of the contract dropped significantly following Friday's regular season finale.

"After careful consideration, I have reached the conclusion that our football program needs new leadership," said UNM athletic director Eddie Nuñez in a statement. "I want to thank Danny for his service to the University of New Mexico. Danny helped bring stability to our football program during a difficult time and played a big role in fostering a positive culture throughout our department of athletics. He truly cares about the University of New Mexico and all of our programs, and we are grateful for the lasting impact he has had on the student-athletes on our campus. Coach Gonzales will always be a Lobo for life."

Gonzales was 11-32 with his alma mater, going 5-26 in Mountain West Conference games and never winning more that two games in league play. After a home loss to New Mexico State on Sept. 16, he guaranteed his team would win at least six games and earn a bowl bid.

UNM finished 4-8 this season, the best season it had with Gonzales at the helm.

"While I'm disappointed, I will always appreciate and be grateful for the opportunity to return to the University of New Mexico and lead the football program as head coach," Gonzales in a statement issued by the school. "I'm proud of the program we built and will always cheer on my alma mater in the future."

The program has faced significant challenges since it fired Bob Davie in 2019 and hired Gonzales away from his role as Arizona State's defensive coordinator to take over his hometown team. Gonzales cobbled together his first recruiting class in only a few weeks after he was brought in just before Christmas in 2019, vowing to build UNM's roster with upwards off 20 high school recruits every year create a longterm foundation of four- and five-year players.

That plan never fully materialized as the coronavirus pandemic forced him to shut down his first set of spring practices before they were finished. State health restrictions that prohibited any kind of large gatherings anywhere in New Mexico led to UNM sending its entire team to Henderson, Nev., for the duration of the 2020 season. The Lobos spent two months training at UNLV's Sam Boyd Stadium without basic facilities or the comforts of home — like no weight room access or contact with friends or family.

The Lobos snapped what was then the nation's longest active losing streak during that season, winning their final two games to finish 2-5 in an abbreviated season. They opened the 2021 season with two straight wins but would up losing nine of their final 10 behind the worst offense in the country.

That offense got even worse in 2022, a 2-10 campaign in which the Lobos lost all eight conference games and ranked last in the country in total offense while losing beloved assistant coach Rocky Long. Long was Gonzales's mentor while in college and brought him on board the team's coaching staff as a graduate assistant and eventually a full-time assistant.

He later joined Long's staff at San Diego State before becoming Arizona State's defensive coordinator for two years.

His tenure at UNM saw attendance slowly decline. In 18 games at University Stadium, the Lobos averaged just 15,760 fans and were 1-11 in MWC games in University Stadium. That lone win came this season against Hawaii.

"We have already begun a national search to identify the next leader of our football program, and we will work quickly but most importantly as thoroughly as possible," Nuñez said. "With the department's standard of excellence, our strong fan support for Lobo Athletics, and our commitment to football, I am confident that we will find a tremendous coach to lead us into the future."

WHO'S NEXT?

A number of names have already begun to surface as New Mexico's next head coach.

The Athletic suggested possible candidate could be former BYU and Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall, former Utah State and Texas Tech coach Matt Wells, former Boise State coach Bryan Harsin and former Lobos defensive coordinator and TCU head coach Gary Patterson.

Other candidates could include current UNM offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent, New Mexico State coach Jerry Kill and recently fired Mississippi State head coach Zach Arnett, an Albuquerque native who played football for the Lobos under Long.

Recent hires under Nuñez have had connections to his ties in the Southeastern Conference or to those of deputy athletic director David Williams and his strong connections in the Midwest.

A former assistant basketball coach at North Dakota State, Williams was an administrator at South Dakota before coming to UNM. South Dakota's football team is currently the No. 3 seed in the FCS playoffs and a number of top teams in that bracket hail from the upper Midwest, making for several potential candidates.