The football team has added two more coaches to its roster — well, sort of.
After former defensive coordinator Ron West left UNM earlier this month for a coaching spot at Arizona State, head coach Bob Davie announced Jeff Mills will take over the position.
Mills was originally hired in January as a defensive backs coach, but has now been promoted to the defensive coordinator position.
Davie also hired Kevin Cosgrove as the new linebackers coach.
Davie said after getting to know Mills during the past few weeks at UNM, he knew he would be the right coach for the position.
“Over the past month, it became clear to me that Jeff Mills has all the qualities I am looking for in a defensive coordinator,” Davie said.
Mills racked up 10 years of experience as a defensive coordinator during his time at Idaho, Nevada and Youngstown State, but he said he did not expect to become the defensive coordinator just one month after being hired.
“No, I wasn’t expecting it,” he said. “Originally when I was hired here in January it was to coach the defensive backs, but it’s a role I have served at three other universities.”
Mills was hired from Washington this year, where he was the secondary coach for the past three seasons.
He arrived at Washington just as the team wrapped up a 0-12 season, and then made back-to back bowl games the following two seasons.
He said he plans to do that at UNM as well.
He will have his work cut out for him, after UNM gave up more than 490 yards per game last season. Opposing teams averaged 41.7 points per game against the Lobos during the 2011 season.
Mills said he is not going to dwell on past seasons and will, instead, focus on what’s in front of them.
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“It’s about effort first — that’s the starting point, we really aren’t looking backward, just forward, all we can control today,” he said. “From there we are going to look at fundamentals and focus on proper fundamentals at each position.”
Cosgrove joins UNM as the linebackers coach with 32 years of experience and 17 years as a defensive coordinator.
He has spent 25 years coaching in the Big 10 at Nebraska and Wisconsin and has coached in 16 bowl games, including four Rose Bowls.
Davie said Cosgrove has the coaching experience needed to help turn UNM’s struggling football program around.
“I’ve known Kevin Cosgrove personally for a long time,” he said. “Certainly, his coaching résumé speaks for itself.”
Cosgrove spent 14 seasons at Wisconsin and in 2008 was inducted into the Wisconsin Football Coaches Hall of Fame.
Former Badgers head coach Barry Alvarez said during his time at Wisconsin, Cosgrove was one of the best coaches.
“Kevin did an unbelievable job for us and a big part of our success was because of what he did,” he said. “In addition to being a great coach, he’s one of the very best recruiters I’ve ever been around.”
