APWell, this is certainly an unexpected development.
Nearly 10 years after being fired by Notre Dame, Bob Davie has found his way back to the collegiate coaching game. According to ESPN.com‘s Joe Schad via Twitter, Davie has been hired as New Mexico’s head coach.
The school has yet to confirm the hiring, although an official announcement on a new hire is expected at some point Thursday, a UNM official said this afternoon.
The Lobos were the first Div. 1-A program to make a coaching change this offseason, firing controversial head coach Mike Locksley during the last week of September. Paul Krebs, UNM’s athletic director, had publicly stated earlier this month that the focus of their search would be on former or current head coaches such as Mike Leach and Jim Leavitt and Glen Mason, who announced on Twitter that he was not interested in the job.
To say the least, the move to bring in a new coach who has been away from the game on the field for a decade qualifies as more than just a minor shock. Davie is currently an analyst on ESPN college football telecasts, and has not coached in any capacity since 2001.
UPDATED 2:18 p.m. ET: New Mexico has confirmed the Davie hiring. The Lobos are planning to officially introduce Davie at a press conference, slated for 3:30 p.m. local time Thursday.
He’s a great football analyst………….
Davie will be better than Locksley, but that’s a very low bar.
He’ll be able to accomplish that if he puts up a better record than 2-26, doesn’t get sued for discrimination, or punch out an assistant coach.
Should be interesting to see how he does on a smaller scale without the constant scrutiny. I always thought he was a better coach than he was given credit for.
Bob Davie… An OK analyst, a lousy sports commentator and a poor coach…. Sorry New Mexico State…. You’re hiring a Tier 3 coach.
The key will be what kind of staff he can put together. A pretty good hire. I wonder if NM is finally going to dedicate the resources that Rocky Long sought but never received.
Good luck to him. In the 10 years since he was fired from Notre Dame, I think it is safe to say that he was not the problem with South Bend. He’s stayed around the game through his commentary work, so he should be able to relate to the players and build a staff. 7-5 at New Mexico every year will get him a statue.
Too bad. Kind of liked him as an analyst.
this is bob davies first coaching job since he got fired at ND. the system had him blackballed because he criticized other coaches and questioned lou holtz’ mental capabilities. and that’s a big no-no. you may not like holtz, but davies but it was widely reported that while holtz was head coach @ ND, davies made public comments that holtz was senile
When’s his start date? Always wondered why these kind of in season hires after an in season firing, the new guy didn’t jump in the fire ASAP? Anyone know his 1st day in big chair? …
hekatman says:
Bob Davie… An OK analyst, a lousy sports commentator and a poor coach…. Sorry New Mexico State…. You’re hiring a Tier 3 coach.
He was hired by New Mexico Kat. Different school. I Don’t think I’ll pay much attention to your opinions until you become at least a Tier 2 reader.
Great news! Could not stand listening to him tell listeners how much smarter he was than all of us.
Bob Davie is a high motor coach, you can tell because he is white.