Entering the Eck era: New Mexico taps Jason Eck to be its next football coach

Jason Eck will be New Mexico’s new football coach.

The school announced Saturday it hired the Idaho coach to replace Bronco Mendenhall, who left last week after just one year as head coach.

Eck, 47, signed a five-year deal with UNM, per Athletic Director Fernando Lovo. Contract details were not available at the time of publication.

“I am truly humbled to be selected as the head coach of the New Mexico Lobos,” Eck said in a release. “I know that the university community, students, alumni, Lobo Nation and greater Albuquerque and New Mexico communities are eager for success and I cannot wait to give that to them. We will have tremendous coaches and support staff and develop our student-athletes into elite athletes, UNM graduates and people.

“My wife, Kimberly, and our five children are thrilled to be a part of Albuquerque and we are ready to go!”

Eck was 26-13 with three playoff appearances in as many seasons with the FCS Vandals, leading Idaho to a football revival since they dropped down from the FBS ranks in 2018.

The Vandals (10-3) are currently ranked eighth in the AFCA FCS poll and reached the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs, falling 52-19 to No. 1 Montana State on Friday night.

Under Eck, Idaho posted three-straight winning seasons for the first since 1993-95, all while playing in the rigorous Big Sky Conference. The Vandals defeated two Mountain West opponents in that span, drubbing Nevada 33-6 last season before grinding out a 17-13 win at Wyoming on Sept. 7.

Idaho trailed by only three points with 10 minutes remaining to then No. 3 Oregon, eventually losing 24-14 in a Aug. 31 game. The Ducks remain unbeaten and are the top ranked team in FBS.

Eck was hired at Idaho in Dec. 2021 as a first-time head coach after spending six seasons as an assistant at South Dakota State. He signed a contract extension in June that increased his annual compensation to $250,000 with a maximum salary of $462,000; his contract ran through the 2028 season and includes a $525,000 buyout.

At UNM, Eck is set to inherit a UNM roster with 30-plus players in the transfer portal and a steep rebuild all but assured. The Lobos (5-7 in 2024) have not had a winning season since 2016, the program’s longest drought since the 1980s.

The university began conducting a search for a new coach after Mendenhall announced he was leaving to be the head coach at Utah State on Dec. 6.

Lovo said Eck emerged due to his history as a program-builder with an “infectious” personality. He turned around an Idaho program that only had one winning season in the last 12 years with an energy that caught Lovo’s eye.

The athletic director said he was looking for candidates that had previous head coaching experience with an ability to engage the community.

“And I noticed that (in Eck) quickly,” he said. “The other thing (I looked for) is someone that deeply cared about the holistic development of the student athlete, right? You’ve got the Xs and Os, all of those things are important … but someone that has a plan to develop student athletes both on and off the field was something that was really important to me, and something coach Eck has a tremendous plan for.”

Lovo did not disclose what other candidates interviewed for the position.

A La Crosse, Wisconsin native, Eck is the son of longtime college basketball coach Jay Eck. He graduated from St. Pius X (Georgia) High School and played offensive line at Wisconsin from 1995-98, starting his coaching career as a graduate assistant with the Badgers.

After another graduate assistant stint with Colorado, Eck then held offensive coaching positions at Idaho, Winona State, Ball State, Hampton, Western Illinois, Minnesota State and Montana State over the next 22 seasons until he was hired as South Dakota State’s offensive line coach in 2016.

Eck was part of a 57-21 run with the Jackrabbits, taking on offensive coordinator duties in 2019 in addition to his position coaching responsibilities. He was honored as the American Football Coaches Association Division I FCS Assistant of the Year in his first season calling South Dakota State’s offense, one year before he helped coach the Jackrabbits in the FCS title game.

UNM said Eck will be introduced at a press conference on campus Tuesday.

Sean Reider covers college football and other sports for the Journal. He can be reached at sreider@abqjournal.com