Maize_in_Spartyland

November 16th, 2011 at 4:27 PM ^

Davie used to coach at Texas A&M from 1985-1993 as an assistant, so he knows that part of the country well. Never could make the transition to ND, or so alums said.

UNM should have never fired Rocky Long (now SDSU HC), but Davie is in a good situation. Put it this way, UNM has won 3 games over the last 3 years.

What happens if he wins 2 next year, contract extension?

 

wile_e8

November 16th, 2011 at 1:57 PM ^

I'm surprised, the chatter was focusing on Glen Mason for a while and I thought that would have been a good hire. Davie has been in the TV booth for over a decade, and didn't do that well in his last stint before heading to TV. Glen Mason brought Minnesota its only period of respectability since I've been alive. I don't know why they would go with Davie instead unless it was monetary issues.

Rabbit21

November 16th, 2011 at 2:13 PM ^

People in New Mexico are actually pretty passionate about the Lobo's(although they care more about basketball) and I'm sure the University felt the need to make a somewhat "name" hire.  The problem is the resources aren't quite there so they usually have to gamble.

Personally I think going with a conventional coach for New Mexico is a mistake.  It's always going to be hard to get premier talent out there(even though Albuquerque is a fun city and the Sandia mountains are pretty), so finding an edge is important.  Rocky Long's 3-3-5 defense is a perfect example as he made the program much more successful than it had been in the past by utilizing something outside of the norm and doing it well. 

chewieblue

November 16th, 2011 at 2:21 PM ^

"Personally I think going with a conventional coach for New Mexico is a mistake.  It's always going to be hard to get premier talent out there(even though Albuquerque is a fun city and the Sandia mountains are pretty), so finding an edge is important.  "

I agree with you.  That's why I think Davie and the triple option are a good fit.  Less access to talent means you have to find an equilazer.

Rabbit21

November 16th, 2011 at 2:31 PM ^

And...I'm an idiot at least as far as Davie is concerned.  While New Mexico needs a different scheme to gain an edge Davie's preference for the option should do well there, and if I recall correctly he ran a version of the 3-3-5 at Texas A&M or at least used some of the concepts.  Good job calling me out, I made the fatal mistake of hearing Notre Dame and thinking boring and conventional.

chewieblue

November 16th, 2011 at 3:34 PM ^

Yeah Rabbit, but in fairness to you, most people hear "Notre Dame" and immediately think about falling short of goals and just plain weirdness.  So it is completely understandable.

Another thing to call to mind about Davie's tenure in South Bend is that the school was knee deep in its hasty over-reaction to the goings on under Lou Holtz (who to this day I say did nothing more than run Notre Dame like any other coach was running his program at the time*) by re-emphasizing academic admittance standards for athletes, forcing Bobby D to bring in sub par talent.  

*I know.... It's so unlike Notre Dame to think of themselves as being more than what they are.

The guy can coach and win or lose in Albequerque, this hire makes sense.  I always thought the guy was classy before, during and after his tenure and I hope he wins at NM.

RoseBowlBound

November 16th, 2011 at 2:30 PM ^

"Even though Albuquerque is a fun city".  It's fun if you are into Georgia O'Keefe paintings and pueblos.  Honestly, I have no idea how you convince a 17 year old kid from California or Texas to hop on a bus and promise to spend 5 years in that town to play FBS football.

That being said, the bar is set so low at that program.  Davie can stay as long as he likes if he can get that team back to playing .500

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

November 16th, 2011 at 2:41 PM ^

Honestly, I have no idea how you convince a 17 year old kid from California or Texas to hop on a bus and promise to spend 5 years in that town to play FBS football.

That was one of Locksley's biggest problems.  The guy is from DC and has all these recruiting ties in DC, so he wasted a lot of time offering all the blue-chips from the DC area thinking he was gonna recruit that area so hard.  About a dozen schools see DC as a pipeline (besides even the national powerhouses that go after the biggest names) and a kid that has an offer from just two or three regional schools wasn't even gonna look at the New Mexico one.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

November 16th, 2011 at 2:29 PM ^

Interesting hire.  I actually liked Davie in the booth, except for his penchant for calling UVA the Hokies, but I think he'll do well at UNM.  He can get the Lobos back on their feet.

AMazinBlue

November 16th, 2011 at 2:57 PM ^

makes sense for NM.  In my reading of Blood, Sweat and Chaulk, the author, Tim Layden talks about how schools that don't have the greatest athletes at the specialized poisitions of RB and QB will gravitate toward the Veer, the option and single wing style of football because it doesn't require a great QB or RB, but several players that are willing to get hit a lot. 

The schools that don't recruit the high profile players in those positions tend to run those offenses and many succeed because very few teams run those schemes and as a result are very difficult to prepare for and defend.