by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
UNM football head coach Rocky Long will get the chance to have his old boss work for him next football season.
The team announced Wednesday that former UCLA head coach Bob Toledo will become UNM's assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Toledo was the head football coach at UCLA from 1996-2002. Long worked for Toledo as the UCLA's defensive coordinator from 1996-97.
Long said he enjoyed the experience of working with Toledo and said he can provide help to the team.
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"I'm real excited about it," Long said. "I think that he will bring an added excitement to the program."
Long said everyone on his staff will return for the 2006 season.
Dan Dodd had served as the offensive coordinator since 2000, and Long said he will be reorganizing his staff in the coming months. Long will most likely announce the position changes within his coaching ranks on Feb. 1, the same day new recruits sign national letters of intent.
Long brought Toledo in because the Lobos did not play up to their potential last season and the ex-Bruins coach can help turn things around.
"I respect our coaches in the program now, and I trust everyone of them, but we need a spark to get us to the next level," he said.
While at UCLA, Toledo had a 49-32 record and won two Pac-10 Conference Championships and led the team to a school record 20-game winning streak. He was fired in 2002 after his team started off 6-0, but fell to 7-5 to close out the season. He hasn't coached since 2002.
Toledo said he has a good relationship with Long and is looking forward to working for him at UNM.
"I'm excited to be in Albuquerque, and I'm really excited to have the opportunity to be at New Mexico and coach the Lobos," Toledo said. "The good thing is, I'm with a good friend, Rocky."
Toledo said there is no reason to worry about him being an assistant for Long after being his boss at UCLA.
"That's not a concern. We're both here for the same reason: We want to win football games. I've sat in that chair. I know who the boss is," he said.
As for the type of offense Toledo plans to run for the Lobos, he will stay with his usual, balanced style compared to the spread offense UNM ran under Dodd.
"We're going to do what I've done for 34 years. That is, we're going to try to have some kind of balance in the offense. If you look at the four teams right now that are going to the Super Bowl, they all run the ball effectively. That's what I want to do," he said.
Toledo said if the Lobos can put together a strong running game it will open things up in the passing game, particularly with play-action passes.
Toledo said he had other coaching opportunities, but UNM was most appealing to him.
"I want to be at a place that is competitive," he said. "I think that New Mexico has a chance to be very competitive in its conference and win a lot of football games."
