Lobos tab Ryan McNamee as new chief of staff 

Former UCLA staffer Ryan McNamee has been hired as New Mexico’s new chief of staff, the program announced Thursday.

The longtime football operations director will “oversee all internal operations and handle many back-of-house details” in a newly created position, per a release from the program. He will also serve as a liaison for UNM’s creative and football equipment staffs while supervising the program’s travel and logistics. 

The decision to add a chief of staff — a position UNM did not have last year — was motivated by a desire to make sure coaches did not have to deal with non-coaching responsibilities, head coach Jason Eck told the Journal. He cited former special teams coordinator Daniel Da Prato as an 0n-field coach who used to help with operational tasks last season, an arrangement he “didn’t necessarily love.”

“I wanted to keep a little bit more of the coaches coaching,” Eck added Thursday. “And hiring a guy like Ryan, he really could be kind of the top non-coaching personnel on our staff and just oversee everything, help it run together smoothly.”

After spending the last four seasons as UCLA’s director of football operations, Eck said McNamee came “highly recommended” from previous coaches he worked with — including New Mexico State head coach Tony Sanchez. McNamee served as UNLV’s director of football operations under Sanchez before joining the Bruins in 2020, where he was promoted to the same role in 2022.

Before that, McNamee held positions at Cornell, Miami, Temple, Villanova and Gettysburg College, his alma mater.

McNamee will make $125,000 on a one-year deal with incentives related to season accomplishments, per a contract posted on UNM athletics’ website. For example, if the Lobos won the Mountain West Championship game, McNamee would receive an additional 3% of his salary ($3,750).

Besides hiring McNamee, Eck said former administrative assistant Gianna Viola has been promoted to director of football operations. David Harris, the program’s previous director of football operations, is no longer with the staff.

“I think (McNamee) will be a good mentor for Gianna,” Eck added, “who I think has shown that she’s productive and a good worker.”

While McNamee was the only staff addition announced Thursday, UNM also released contract information for four new assistants: special teams coordinator Erik Link, wide receivers coach Zach Lujan, running backs coach Darrius G. Smith and associate athletic performance coach Zach Parrella.

Here’s a look at those contracts and how they compare to their predecessors, if applicable:

Erik Link

The former Missouri special teams coordinator will make $175,000 on a one-year deal, and is subject to incentives based on team performance. His predecessor, Daniel Da Prato, made $250,000 last season before leaving for the same role at Minnesota.

Zach Lujan

The former Northwestern and South Dakota State offensive coordinator will make $160,000 on a one-year deal. His predecessor, Colin Lockett, made $110,000 last season before leaving for the same role at UCLA.

Darrius G. Smith

The former head coach at Fort Lewis will make $120,000 on a one-year deal. His predecessor, John Johnson, made $145,000 last season before leaving for the same role at Iowa State.

Zach Parella

The former athletic performance assistant at Louisiana-Monroe and Louisiana Tech will make $65,000 on a one-year deal.

Sean Reider covers college football and other sports for the Journal. You can reach him at sreider@abqjournal.com or via X at @lenaweereider.