Lobo football notes: Amid wild coaching carousel, Jason Eck says he’s 'very happy' at UNM

There’s a case to be made that this year’s iteration of college football’s coaching carousel could be — or has been — the craziest yet.

Consider this: 12 FBS jobs, including powerhouses like LSU, Florida and Penn State, have opened before Nov. 1. Ten of those vacancies were due to in-season firings, the highest number since seven coaches were dismissed in 2022. And that number could grow even more in the coming weeks, with reported hot seats for head coaches at Florida State, Auburn, Michigan State and Wisconsin.

Those are just the initial openings, though. Dozens of coaches have been listed as potential candidates for said vacancies, all but ensuring that more jobs open as rising coordinators and sitting head coaches — like New Mexico’s Jason Eck — get floated for openings.

Amid that chatter, how is Eck treating some of the noise?

“I think it’s gonna take something amazing to pull us away from here,” UNM’s first-year head coach said in a news conference Tuesday. “I don’t think it’s a negative (to be listed) because most of the programs where you hear their coaches being mentioned (for job openings) is because they’re winning. No one who’s 2-5 or 2-6 at this point is getting their name mentioned.”

At 5-3, Eck and the Lobos’ could clinch the program’s first bowl appearance since 2016 this Saturday at UNLV. The former Idaho coach said he’s focused on that task, but added he’s “very happy” at UNM and complimented athletic director Fernando Lovo and President Garnett S. Stokes.

UNM’s president since 2018, Stokes is scheduled to retire in July, the school announced earlier this month. While admitting he was interested in the search for her replacement, Eck said he did not want a role in it, preferring that Lovo has input instead.

“In talking with him, I know he hopes to have some involvement in that as well,” he continued. “So that’s important for us, because I think we’re getting our momentum going in the right place (and) you wanna certainly keep that.”

After his hiring in December, Eck signed a five-year escalating contract paying him $1.15 million a year, the sixth-highest salary among active head coaches in the Mountain West. When reached by the Journal, Lovo said he has not had specific conversations with Eck about potentially reworking the latter’s contract amid a historic start.

“We do talk all the time about what the future looks like,” he said Wednesday. “And obviously he’s here for the same reasons I am, and that’s to elevate this place and grow … I know he’s focused on trying to do something that hasn’t been done in 10 years here, and that’s get to a bowl game.

“I know he said it the other day and we’re completely aligned in that, we’re focused right now. But it’s never too early to start and we met (during the) last bye week and talked about things that we got to improve upon and things that we’re doing great. We got another bye week next week, so we’re gonna keep having those productive conversations and get into more specifics as we get later in the year.”

Wanna bet?

After outcry from coaches and administrators, the NCAA walked back plans to allow student-athletes to gamble on professional (not collegiate) sports as soon as Saturday, delaying the possible change to Nov. 22.

Has Eck talked to his team about this change?

“I’m gonna talk with the team about it and address it,” he said before the NCAA announced plans to delay the change. “My message is, you gotta be careful. A lot of these guys are in their first year. You know, the freshmen are still in the dorms. But you start getting to the guys who are on scholarship in their second year, now they’re getting a monthly stipend they got to pay their rent with and things.

“And you gotta make sure you’re not losing the money to pay your rent. I’d also caution guys (that) you gotta be careful. If you’re a guy who hopes to play in the NFL, you gotta be very careful doing it. Because then if you go play in the NFL, you’re not going to be betting on these games and you don’t want to get kind of hooked on it, and then now that’s a problem that could affect you playing professionally in a couple years.

“ … I think you can be moderate about it and make a $10 bet here and there, and it doesn’t affect your ability to live and things. That’s one thing. But I’d be concerned if we’re getting to guys all of a sudden coming to us and they can’t pay their rent because it all went on parlays or something. Gotta learn.”

Brawley’s (almost) back

After practicing last week, safety Austin Brawley is on track to return after UNM’s second bye week, per Eck. The 5-10, 180-pound safety suffered a foot injury in a 34-17 loss to Michigan on Aug. 30; Eck said he also underwent a minor back procedure recently.

“Our plan all along was we wanted to preserve his redshirt year and keep him playing in only four games or less,” he added. “So with him playing the Michigan game, we expect him to return and play (the) last three games, which would keep him at four games and allow him to come back next year.”