Rocky Long
Rocky Long went 146–107 as a head coach, 1998–2019, at New Mexico and San Diego State. Share
- Record
- 146–107 career
- Seasons
- 20
- Schools
- 2
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Born
- Jan 27, 1950
- Alma mater
- New Mexico 1974
- Best season
- 2016 11–3, No. 25
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | New Mexico | 3–9 | 7th | |||
| 1999 | New Mexico | 4–7 | T–5th | |||
| 2000 | New Mexico | 5–7 | T–5th | |||
| 2001 | New Mexico | 6–5 | T–3rd | |||
| 2002 | New Mexico | 7–7 | 2nd | Las Vegas Bowl L | ||
| 2003 | New Mexico | 8–5 | 2nd | Las Vegas Bowl L | ||
| 2004 | New Mexico | 7–5 | 2nd | Emerald Bowl L | ||
| 2005 | New Mexico | 6–5 | T–4th | |||
| 2006 | New Mexico | 6–7 | 5th | New Mexico Bowl L | ||
| 2007 | New Mexico | 9–4 | T–3rd | New Mexico Bowl W | ||
| 2008 | New Mexico | 4–8 | 7th | |||
| 2009–10: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 2011 | San Diego State | 8–5 | 4th | New Orleans Bowl L | ||
| 2012 | San Diego State | 9–4 | T–1st | Poinsettia Bowl L | ||
| 2013 | San Diego State | 8–5 | 2nd | Famous Idaho Potato Bowl W | ||
| 2014 | San Diego State | 7–6 | T–1st | Poinsettia Bowl L | ||
| 2015 | San Diego State | 11–3 | 1st | Hawai’i Bowl W | ||
| 2016 | San Diego State | 11–3 | 1st | Las Vegas Bowl W | 25 | |
| 2017 | San Diego State | 10–3 | 2nd | Armed Forces Bowl L | ||
| 2018 | San Diego State | 7–6 | 4th | Frisco Bowl L | ||
| 2019 | San Diego State | 10–3 | T–1st | New Mexico Bowl W | ||
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table.
Players he coached
John SullivanConsensus All‑American, 2007
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 18 | 4–14 | 22% |
| Against top-10 teams | 4 | 0–4 | 0% |
| Against rivals | 36 | 23–13 | 64% |
| Conference games | 153 | 92–61 | 60% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 14 | 5–9 | 36% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 103 | 57–46 | 55% |
| At home | 122 | 79–43 | 65% |
| On the road | 113 | 59–54 | 52% |
| At neutral sites | 18 | 8–10 | 44% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 156 | 113–43 | 72% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 97 | 33–64 | 34% |
His own 253 games on file, 1998–2019, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Troy Calhoun 2007–2018 | 8–1 | Air Force | 9 | |
| Fisher DeBerry 1998–2006 | 4–5 | Air Force | 9 | |
| Sonny Lubick 1999–2007 | 4–5 | Colorado State | 9 | |
| Tony Samuel 1998–2004 | 4–3 | New Mexico State | 7 | |
| Joe Glenn 2003–2008 | 5–1 | Wyoming | 6 | |
| John Robinson 1999–2004 | 4–2 | UNLV | 6 | |
| Tony Sanchez 2015–2019 | 4–1 | UNLV | 5 | |
| Ron McBride 1998–2002 | 2–3 | Utah | 5 | |
| Tim DeRuyter 2012–2016 | 2–3 | Fresno State | 5 | |
| Mike Leach 2000–2004 | 1–4 | Texas Tech | 5 |
Rocky Long’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| UNLVseries | 19 | 14–5 |
| Air Forceseries | 18 | 12–6 |
| Wyomingseries | 16 | 12–4 |
| Colorado Stateseries | 15 | 8–7 |
| New Mexico Stateseries | 13 | 10–3 |
| BYUseries | 13 | 3–10 |
| San Diego Stateseries | 11 | 9–2 |
| Utahseries | 11 | 5–6 |
Other roles
- Team captain, New Mexico 1969, 1971
From each season’s Wikipedia article.
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972–73 | New Mexico | Graduate assistant | |
| 1974–75 | Eldorado HS (NM) high school | Assistant coach | |
| 1978 | New Mexico | Offensive backs coach | |
| 1979–80 | New Mexico | Defensive backs coach | |
| 1981–85 | Wyoming | Defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach | |
| 1986–87 | BC Lions CFL | Linebackers coach | |
| 1988–90 | TCU | Defensive backs coach | |
| 1991–95 | Oregon State | Defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach | |
| 1996–97 | UCLA | Defensive coordinator | |
| 1998–2008 | New Mexico | Head coach | |
| 2009–10 | San Diego State | Defensive coordinator | |
| 2011–19 | San Diego State | Head coach | |
| 2020–22 | New Mexico | Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| 2023 | Syracuse | Defensive coordinator | |
| 2024–25 | Fort Lewis service team | Defensive assistant | |
| 2026–present | Bayfield HS (CO) high school | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Rudy FeldmanNew Mexico
- Bill MondtNew Mexico
- Joe MorrisonNew Mexico
- Al KincaidWyoming
- Don MatthewsBC Lions
- Larry DonovanBC Lions
- Jim WackerTCU
- Jerry PettiboneOregon State
- Bob ToledoUCLA
- Brady HokeSan Diego State
- Danny GonzalesNew Mexico
- Dino BabersSyracuse
- and 1 more
Assistants who became head coaches
- Bronco MendenhallBYU, Virginia, New Mexico, Utah State
- Jim FenwickPierce, Los Angeles Valley, Cal State Northridge, Eastern Oregon
- Trooper TaylorDuke
- Blake AndersonArkansas State, Utah State, Southern Miss
- Danny GonzalesNew Mexico
- Bob ToledoPacific, UCLA, Tulane, UC Riverside
- Dave BaldwinSanta Barbara, Santa Rosa, Cal State Northridge, San José State, Colorado State
- Matt WellsUtah State, Texas Tech
- Jeff HortonNevada, UNLV, Minnesota
- Zach ArnettMississippi State
- Blane MorganLamar
- Bobby HauckUNLV, Montana
- and 1 more
Worked under (13)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rudy Feldman | New Mexico | 1972–73 | Graduate assistant | |
| Bill Mondt | New Mexico | 1978–79 | 1978: offensive backs coach; 1979: defensive backs coach | |
| Joe Morrison | New Mexico | 1980 | Defensive backs coach | |
| Al Kincaid | Wyoming | 1981–85 | Defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach | |
| Don Matthews | BC Lions pro | 1986–87 | Linebackers coach | |
| Larry Donovan | BC Lions pro | 1987 | Linebackers coach | |
| Jim Wacker | TCU | 1988–90 | Defensive backs coach | |
| Jerry Pettibone | Oregon State | 1991–95 | Defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach | |
| Bob Toledo | UCLA | 1996–97 | Defensive coordinator | |
| Brady Hoke | San Diego State | 2009–10 | Defensive coordinator | |
| Danny Gonzales | New Mexico | 2020–22 | Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| Dino Babers | Syracuse | 2023 | Defensive coordinator | |
| Nunzio Campanile | Syracuse | 2023 | Defensive coordinator |
Coached under him, later head coaches (13)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bronco Mendenhall | New Mexico, 1998–2001: defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach; 2002: assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach | BYU, Virginia, New Mexico, Utah State | |
| Jim Fenwick | New Mexico, 1998–99: offensive coordinator | Pierce, Los Angeles Valley, Cal State Northridge, Eastern Oregon | |
| Trooper Taylor | New Mexico, 1998: running backs coach | Duke | |
| Blake Anderson | New Mexico, 1999–2000: running backs coach; 2001: wide receivers coach | Arkansas State, Utah State, Southern Miss | |
| Danny Gonzales | New Mexico, 1999–2002: graduate assistant; 2006–08: safeties and special teams coach; San Diego State, 2011–16: safeties coach; 2017: defensive coordinator and safeties coach | New Mexico | |
| Bob Toledo | New Mexico, 2006: offensive coordinator; San Diego State, 2013–14: offensive coordinator | Pacific, UCLA, Tulane, UC Riverside | |
| Dave Baldwin | New Mexico, 2007–08: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Santa Barbara, Santa Rosa, Cal State Northridge, San José State, Colorado State | |
| Matt Wells | New Mexico, 2007–08: wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator | Utah State, Texas Tech | |
| Jeff Horton | San Diego State, 2011–14: assistant head coach and running backs coach; 2015–19: assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and running backs coach | Nevada, UNLV, Minnesota | |
| Zach Arnett | San Diego State, 2011–13: graduate assistant; 2014–17: linebackers coach; 2018–19: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | Mississippi State | |
| Blane Morgan | San Diego State, 2015–19: quarterbacks coach | Lamar | |
| Bobby Hauck | San Diego State, 2015–17: special teams coach | UNLV, Montana | |
| Brady Hoke | San Diego State, 2019: defensive line coach | Ball State, San Diego State, Michigan, Tennessee |
Other assistants under him (9)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Dan Dodd | New Mexico, 2000–05: offensive coordinator | |
| Curtis Luper | New Mexico, 2002–04: running backs coach | |
| Holmon Wiggins | New Mexico, 2003–04: student assistant; 2005: graduate assistant | |
| Osia Lewis | New Mexico, 2003–05: defensive coordinator and defensive line coach; 2006–07: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach; San Diego State, 2011–15: defensive line coach | |
| Todd Throckmorton | New Mexico, 2006–08: tight ends coach | |
| Tony White | New Mexico, 2008: linebackers coach; San Diego State, 2011–17: cornerbacks coach and recruiting coordinator | |
| Troy Reffett | New Mexico, 2008: defensive coordinator | |
| Andy Ludwig | San Diego State, 2011–12: offensive coordinator | |
| Ryan Lindley | San Diego State, 2017–18: graduate assistant |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.
Pay
| Year | School | Job | Contract pay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | San Diego State | head coachbonuses up to $735,000; $198,150 in bonuses paid; buyout $374,148 | $828,304 USA Today | |
| 2016 | San Diego State | head coachbonuses up to $655,000; $195,000 in bonuses paid | $810,632 USA Today | |
| 2015 | San Diego State | head coachbonuses up to $655,000; $65,000 in bonuses paid | $808,300 USA Today | |
| 2014 | San Diego State | head coachbonuses up to $855,000 | $802,000 USA Today |
USA Today’s coaches salary database (2014–17, from public-records requests to the schools; Rachel Ehlers’ copy): the season’s contract pay, school pay plus outside money, before bonuses.
Pay of public employees in their public job only: head coaches, and assistants in the seasons our records name them a coordinator, at public universities.
How he coached
Long’s teams went for it on 19% of fourth downs and on 35% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 41% of plays and took 25.9 seconds a play, 2004–2019.
| Season | School | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 5 g | New Mexico | 4 of 42 10% | 19% | 44% | 26.3 | −0.21 | |
| 2005 11 g | New Mexico | 16 of 86 19% | 38% | 39% | 25.3 | −0.05 | |
| 2006 13 g | New Mexico | 15 of 105 14% | 37% | 52% | 26.8 | −0.12 | |
| 2007 10 g | New Mexico | 20 of 100 20% | 30% | 49% | 22.7 | −0.15 | |
| 2008 12 g | New Mexico | 25 of 114 22% | 30% | 36% | 25.9 | −0.11 | |
| 2011 13 g | San Diego State | 24 of 99 24% | 38% | 49% | 21.2 | +0.05 | |
| 2012 13 g | San Diego State | 26 of 85 31% | 43% | 38% | 23.2 | +0.02 | |
| 2013 13 g | San Diego State | 37 of 109 34% | 53% | 49% | 22.3 | +0.04 | |
| 2014 13 g | San Diego State | 12 of 96 13% | 26% | 43% | 27.2 | −0.02 | |
| 2015 14 g | San Diego State | 10 of 107 9% | 22% | 29% | 28.4 | +0.02 | |
| 2016 13 g | San Diego State | 13 of 87 15% | 35% | 31% | 28.5 | +0.06 | |
| 2017 13 g | San Diego State | 9 of 83 11% | 27% | 35% | 28.8 | +0.07 | |
| 2018 13 g | San Diego State | 18 of 107 17% | 32% | 41% | 27.7 | −0.03 | |
| 2019 13 g | San Diego State | 23 of 121 19% | 44% | 45% | 27.5 | −0.06 | |
| All 169 g | 252 of 1341 19% | 35% | 41% | 25.9 | −0.03 |
His seasons as a head coach from 2004 on, from ESPN’s play by play: fourth downs where he went for it out of every fourth-down decision; how often he went when SportsDataverse’s fourth-down model said going for it was the better call; the share of his offense’s plays that were passes; seconds of game clock per offensive play (lower is faster); and expected points added per offensive play (EPA, a measure of how much each play moved the offense toward points). The season in progress counts its games so far. SportsDataverse’s coach tendencies, from ESPN’s play by play; the EPA and the fourth-down model are SportsDataverse’s.