Why did Jason Eck stay at UNM? Here's what the head football coach had to say after signing new deal

There were a few good reasons why Jason Eck decided to stay at New Mexico.

For starters, he said his family likes it. The Lobos might be just as good — if not better — next year. And he likes the people he’s working with, be they administrators or fellow coaches.

Last, but certainly not least?

“Moving is a pain in the ass,” UNM’s head coach laughed in a news conference Monday. “There’s a lot of factors. It wasn’t that tough a decision.”

A raise didn’t hurt either.

Eck signed a new five-year deal with the school last week, increasing his annual compensation by $400,000 in the first year of a contract that runs through 2030. The former Idaho coach is also subject to an escalating salary, and new incentives based on regular season wins, Mountain West Championship appearances and more.

UNM completed a 9-3 regular season on Friday with a 23-17 double-overtime win over San Diego State. At 6-2, the Lobos tied for first place in the Mountain West standings, but did not qualify for the league title game.

The school announced the deal Sunday.

UNM Athletic Director Fernando Lovo said conversations around the new deal started over the last couple of weeks amid a season-ending six-game winning streak. There was a “sense of urgency,” he added, to get a new deal done in light of Eck and UNM’s success on and off the field; football attendance increased 51.8% in Eck’s first season, the largest one-year jump in FBS.

“(With) the buy-in from the community, I felt like it was critically important for us not to lose that momentum,” Lovo said in Monday’s news conference. “I talked to Jason about that a lot … We’ve got to increase our ticket sales, we’ve got to increase our donations, we’ve got to increase our community involvement, not just in our football program, but across the board. But football is a big part of that.”

Previously listed as a candidate for multiple Power Four jobs, Eck said he didn’t talk to any other schools throughout the season, but his representation fielded “at least, like, two” calls from other programs.

No opportunity qualified as the “right fit,” he added.

“We certainly weren’t looking — people called us. We’d talk about it and make a decision,” he said. “That’s why it was not a real tough decision. There was nothing (that) came up (where I said), ‘man, that’s a job that I think is incredible.’ We’re making this an incredible job, which people haven’t said in a while.”

Eck’s new incentives are heavily tied to regular and postseason success, ranging from a $50,000 bonus for winning seven games to $150,000 for winning the Mountain West Championship. In the event of a College Football Playoff berth, Eck could earn as much as $450,000 through a set of bonuses Lovo called “achievable” in light of UNM’s performance this season.

“We just tried (to) uncover every stone to make sure that we’re being aggressive and we were incentivizing success, because I know that’s what Jason’s expectations are,” Lovo said.

Eck’s buyout figures remain unchanged from his previous contract. If he were to leave for another job, Eck would owe UNM $4 million in his first contract year; $2 million in the second; $750,000 in the third; $500,000 in the fourth; and $300,000 in the fifth and final year of the deal.

When asked about why the buyout remained the same, Lovo said "it's commitment on coach Eck’s end and on our end, right that we’re invested in this (and) we wanna build this and continue to grow.

“And as (Eck) said … I think it’s gonna take an incredible opportunity for him and his family to leave here, and at the end of the day, we want to make sure that we’re committed. And I know he feels the same way. So I think that was a big point for us, to ensure that.”

As part of Eck’s new deal, UNM’s staff salary pool is expected to increase; Lovo said those details are still being talked through. The majority of UNM’s assistants are currently on one-year deals expiring in February.

"We have a Broyles Award (nominee) in (defensive coordinator Spence Nowinsky) and we have some other great coaches on staff ... We're going to make sure that we take care of them in the manner that they've earned," Lovo added.