UNM, Davie Decide 11/30 Game Final as Head Coach
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Eddie Nuñez, UNM Director of Athletics, and Bob Davie, head football coach, have mutually agreed to part ways at the conclusion of the 2019 football season. Davie, who was hired in late November of 2011, will coach the team this week and in the season finale against Utah State on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 2 p.m. at Dreamstyle Stadium.
“After meeting with Coach Davie this morning, we both agree that the time has come for a new direction for our football program,” said Nuñez. “I’m appreciative of the work that coach Davie has done at UNM.”
Davie has a 35-63 record at UNM over his eight seasons, and his tenure is tied for the second-longest at UNM. His soon to be 99th game coached at UNM will also be the second-most, both totals behind Rocky Long, who coached 134 games over 11 seasons. His 35 wins are the third-most in program history.
“In stepping aside, I’m proud of what we accomplished at UNM, but we are all disappointed that we have not been able to sustain the success that we achieved and all desire” said Davie. “My family and I will be forever grateful to UNM for giving me the opportunity to coach again after being at ESPN for 10 years.”
When hired in late November of 2011, Davie inherited a team that went 3-37 in its previous 40 games and had the lowest scholarship total in the FBS. Davie’s first team went 4-9, surpassing the win total of the previous three seasons combined.
In 2015, the Lobos turned in a historic performance at Boise State, winning 31-24 and gaining bowl eligibility. That season, UNM played in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl, losing to Arizona 45-37. The following season saw the Lobos reel off a five-game in-season winning streak on the way to a 9-4 record and a 23-20 win over UTSA in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl, just the fourth bowl win in program history, and the second in 55 seasons. The nine-win season was tied for the second-most in school history.
The 2015 and 2016 seasons proved the best under Davie, and the combined 16 wins tying a program record for most wins in back-to-back seasons, and 11 conference wins setting a program record. The 2016 team set program records for rushing yards and scoring offense and led the nation in rushing yards per game.
Academically, UNM set a program record for single-season GPA, single-year GPA, and four times set a record for most Mountain West All-Academic selections. UNM also led the Mountain West in 2018 in Mountain West scholar-athletes.
Three times under Davie, UNM has had a Wuerffel Trophy semifinalist, with Garrett Adcock being named a finalist in 2016. Adcock was also named CoSIDA First Team Academic All-America in 2016, the program’s first in eight years.
Counting his five seasons as the head coach at Notre Dame, Saturday’s season finale will conclude his 13th season as a head football coach, and counting his 10 years at ESPN, it will conclude his 43rd season in college football as a coach or a broadcaster.