| Rocky Long | |
| File:MountainWestMD-2016-0727-RockyLong.png Long at 2016 Mountain West Media Days | |
| Sport(s) | Football |
|---|---|
| Current position | |
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | San Diego State |
| Conference | MW |
| Record | 72–35 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | January 27, 1950 Provo, Utah |
| Alma mater | New Mexico (BEd) |
| Playing career | |
| Position(s) | Defensive back, quarterback |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 137–104 |
| Bowls | 4–9 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships 3 MWC (2012, 2015, 2016) | |
| Awards CFL Western All-Star (1977) | |
Roderick John "Rocky" Long Jr. (born January 27, 1950) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at the San Diego State University. Promoted on January 12, 2011 from defensive coordinator, he succeeded Brady Hoke.[1] Long was the head football coach at his alma mater, the University of New Mexico, from 1998 to 2008. He played professionally with BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the Detroit Wheels of World Football League (WFL).
Playing career[]
Long was the starting quarterback for the New Mexico Lobos football team from 1969 to 1971, recording consecutive winning seasons and earning player-of-the-year honors in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in 1971. His professional career began with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL) in 1972, with which he played 68 games in total. In 1974, he departed to the Detroit Wheels of the World Football League (WFL). That year, he intercepted three passes for 38 return yards, and returned 20 punts for 217 yards and 14 kickoffs for 402 yards. He returned to the Lions for three years and had one of his best years in 1975, when he intercepted a team high eight passes for 88 yards. A Western All-Star in 1977, Long also led the team in punt returns in his last three years, and is still the fourth leading all-time returner, with 1946 yards on 192 punt returns, with one touchdown.
Coaching career[]
Long returned to New Mexico as the head football coach on December 20, 1997. His overall won-loss record was 65–69 in 11 seasons. His 65 wins are the most of any head coach in program history. Long surpassed Roy W. Johnson's mark of 41 wins during the 2005 season.
Long led the Lobos to three straight bowl games from 2003 to 2005, a first in program history. The Lobos been bowl-eligible for seven straight seasons, from 2001 to 2007, another program record. This streak continued into the 2007 season as the Lobos accepted a bid to the New Mexico Bowl, where Long garnered his bowl win with a victory over the Nevada Wolf Pack.
After an 11-season career, Long resigned on November 17, 2008, two days after the Lobos' regular game season ended. Long cited that he was not the right person to lead the program to newer heights. He added that he had no plans of retirement, and that he wanted to continue to coach as a coordinator.[2] In 2011, he was promoted to head coach at San Diego State after two seasons as their defensive coordinator.
Personal life[]
Long and his wife, Debby, have two daughters, Roxanne and Hannah, who are also coaches. Roxanne is the former women's basketball program head coach at Rogers State University in Claremore, Oklahoma,[3] and Hannah is the women's volleyball program head coach at Queens University of Charlotte.[4]
Head coaching record[]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Mexico Lobos (Western Athletic Conference) (1998) | |||||||||
| 1998 | New Mexico | 3–9 | 1–7 | 7th (Pacific) | |||||
| New Mexico Lobos (Mountain West Conference) (1999–2008) | |||||||||
| 1999 | New Mexico | 4–7 | 3–4 | T–5th | |||||
| 2000 | New Mexico | 5–7 | 3–4 | T–5th | |||||
| 2001 | New Mexico | 6–5 | 4–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 2002 | New Mexico | 7–7 | 5–2 | 2nd | L Las Vegas | ||||
| 2003 | New Mexico | 8–5 | 5–2 | 2nd | L Las Vegas | ||||
| 2004 | New Mexico | 7–5 | 5–2 | 2nd | L Emerald | ||||
| 2005 | New Mexico | 6–5 | 4–4 | T–4th | |||||
| 2006 | New Mexico | 6–7 | 4–4 | 5th | L New Mexico | ||||
| 2007 | New Mexico | 9–4 | 5–3 | T–3rd | W New Mexico | ||||
| 2008 | New Mexico | 4–8 | 2–6 | 7th | |||||
| New Mexico: | 65–69 | 40–34 | |||||||
| San Diego State Aztecs (Mountain West Conference) (2011–present) | |||||||||
| 2011 | San Diego State | 8–5 | 4–3 | 4th | L New Orleans | ||||
| 2012 | San Diego State | 9–4 | 7–1 | T–1st | L Poinsettia | ||||
| 2013 | San Diego State | 8–5 | 6–2 | 2nd (West) | W Famous Idaho Potato | ||||
| 2014 | San Diego State | 7–6 | 5–3 | T–1st (West) | L Poinsettia | ||||
| 2015 | San Diego State | 11–3 | 8–0 | 1st (West) | W Hawaii | ||||
| 2016 | San Diego State | 11–3 | 6–2 | 1st (West) | W Las Vegas | 25 | 25 | ||
| 2017 | San Diego State | 10–3 | 6–2 | 2nd (West) | L Armed Forces | ||||
| 2018 | San Diego State | 7–6 | 4–4 | 4th (West) | L Frisco | ||||
| 2019 | San Diego State | 1–0 | 0–0 | (West) | |||||
| San Diego State: | 72–35 | 46–17 | |||||||
| Total: | 137–104 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title | |||||||||
| †Indicates BCS bowl, Bowl Alliance or Bowl Coalition game. #Rankings from final Coaches' Poll. °Rankings from final AP Poll. | |||||||||
Coaching tree[]
Assistant coaches under Rocky Long who became NCAA or NFL head coaches:
- Blake Anderson: Arkansas State (2014 – present)
- Bobby Hauck: Montana (2018 – present)
- Bronco Mendenhall: Brigham Young (2005 – 2015); Virginia (2016 – present)
- Matt Wells: Utah State (2013 – 2018), Texas Tech (2019 – present)
The following is a list of all coaches Long served for at the NCAA Division I level through assistant coaching:
- Rudy Feldman: 1969†, 1970†, 1971†, 1972, 1973
- Bill Mondt: 1978, 1979
- Joe Morrison: 1980
- Al Kincaid: 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985
- Jim Wacker: 1988, 1989, 1990
- Jerry Pettibone: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995
- Bob Toledo: 1996, 1997
- Brady Hoke: 2009, 2010
References[]
- ↑ http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2008/dec/29/1s29azfoot215132-rocky-long-coach-aztecs-defense/?zIndex=29037
- ↑ "New Mexico's winningest coach Long steps down". http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3709383.
- ↑ "Rogers St.". Archived from the original on June 19, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130619225258/http://www.rsuhillcats.com/profile.asp?playerID=752.
- ↑ "2016 Women's Volleyball Coaching Staff". http://www.queensathletics.com/coaches.aspx?rc=642&path=wvball.
- ↑ "2017 New Mexico Lobos Football Media Guide". Athletics at the University of New Mexico. https://golobos.com/documents/2017/7/23/2017_Football_Media_Guide.pdf. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
External links[]
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