Lobo head coach Rocky Long begins his seventh season on the sidelines this Friday against Washington State University.
Long was a standout player for UNM from 1969-71, winning Western Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 1971 and MVP of the team all three years he played quarterback. This is part one of a two-part interview that will conclude on Friday.
Daily Lobo: You were a quarterback at UNM in the early '70s, and left as the all-time leading rusher. What kind of a player were you?
Rocky Long: We ran the wishbone, so the quarterback was just another running back in the backfield. We threw a little bit, but nothing like they do now. I threw maybe 15 times a game and completed 60 or 70 percent of my passes.
DL: Then you played pro in the CFL as a defensive back. How did you do in the pros?
RL: I did okay - lasted six years. I loved it. I wish I could still be doing it. There's no comparison between coaching and playing. Coaching is fun and keeps you in the game, but it's nothing like playing.
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While you're playing, you feel like you're invincible, but then one day its over.
At first, you're kind of happy it's over, because you've been beat up and sore all your life, but then about a year later when football starts again, you go into a state of depression because you don't get to play. I'm 54 years old and I still go into a state of depression when the season starts, because I'd much rather be playing.
DL: Why didn't you play quarterback in the pros?
RL: When I went to Canada I thought I was going to be a quarterback, but they gave me a choice. I could either make the team as a defensive back or play quarterback and get cut. It wasn't really much of a choice. I was a DB in high school, and I played that position my first year in New Mexico.
DL: Did you ever picture yourself doing something other than coaching for a living?
RL: Every year about a week before the first game, I picture myself doing something else. I get nervous and worried we haven't covered something, and in competitive athletics, you're always worried you might not do well.
DL: Does that go away after the first game?
RL: Well, after the first game, you settle into a routine. You still have the same feelings weekly as you get ready to play a game, but they're not as intense as they were before that first game.
DL: This is the first place you've ever been head coach. How much more work is it for you than when you were a coordinator?
RL: I can't put a number on it. The workload is dramatically bigger because of administrative requirements. The football doesn't take more time, you just don't have as much time during the day to take care of football.
DL: When you were at UCLA as defensive coordinator from 1996-97, did you ever meet John Wooden?
RL: Sure. Coach Wooden was always in the training room by 6:30 in the morning. Coaches always get up really early. Sometimes I'd wander into the training room to check on players, and coach Wooden would be in there, and I'd sit and talk with him.
He's an amazing guy - very friendly and down to earth. He has a lot of insights into coaching. He also has a lot of insights into everything else in the world, too. He's really sharp and a lot of fun to talk to.
DL: What kind of insights did he offer into coaching?
RL: What's interesting about guys who've had success like he has is they give you their philosophy on coaching, but they never critique yours. They never give suggestions or make judgments. They just talk about how they did it.
Some guys have some success, nothing close to Wooden, and will give you all kinds of opinions on what you're doing wrong. But it's my experience that guys who have had great success never judge you on what you're doing. They understand how hard the job is.
