After reviving Vandals, former Idaho coach tries to turn around New Mexico

LAS VEGAS (Idaho Statesman) — It’s been a tough decade for the University of New Mexico football program.

The Lobos haven’t enjoyed a winning season since 2016, and have failed to finish higher than sixth in the Mountain West in any of the past eight seasons. They’ve had just 10 conference victories in that same time frame. TOP VIDEOS

And now they’re heading into a season with their third head coach in three years, after Bronco Mendenhall’s surprise switch to Utah State from Albuquerque after the 2024 campaign.

But the man who’s replacing Mendenhall is determined to change the Lobos’ fortune, and it’s someone Idaho football fans know well.

Former University of Idaho coach Jason Eck became New Mexico’s head coach last December after three seasons with the Vandals. It’s his first head coaching gig at the FBS level, having guided U of I to three straight FCS playoff appearances, including the quarterfinals each of the past two seasons.

Idaho hired Thomas Ford Jr. as Eck’s replacement; Ford was Eck’s running back coach at Idaho before spending the 2024 season as the RB coach at Oregon State.

“It’s been a tremendous opportunity, a chance to compete at a higher level,” Eck told the Idaho Statesman last week at Mountain West media days in Las Vegas. “It’s been a blessing, the more resources you have at this level to provide for the players.”

Eck enters a similar situation in New Mexico to what he encountered in Moscow, where he had to invigorate a struggling program. Before Eck arrived at Idaho in 2022, the Vandals hadn’t enjoyed a winning season since 2016, and had just two winning seasons in the 21st century.

Eck has some work to do with New Mexico before the 2025 season kicks off next month. The Lobos were the best team in the country in 2024 for limiting sacks, allowing just five all season, but only one offensive starter, redshirt senior guard Richard Pearce, is returning.

There’s almost a brand-new receiver corps, including Kansas State transfer Keegan Johnson, and a secondary that primarily will be composed of transfers.

But otherwise, Eck told the Statesman to expect a team that’s “not going to have a lot of foolish turnovers or foolish penalties or foolish mistakes.”

Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson told the Statesman that what Eck did at Idaho was “phenomenal.”

“I just think the world of who he is as a person and what he’s been able to do as a coach,” Danielson said. “He’s going to get New Mexico rolling, and people better watch out for the Lobos.”

Eck said building relationships with people off the field is as vital to him as on-field development while he’s getting started. And he said he did something similar in Idaho. He said it’s especially important at New Mexico because of the turnover in recent years.

“With our community and our boosters, you’ve got to really work a little extra harder to build that trust,” Eck said. “Because when you’ve had three head coaches in three years, there’s a natural apprehension: ‘Who’s this new guy? Is it going to be four coaches in four years?’ “So I think you’ve got to really be deliberate about your time, and really invest and try to repair trust and build trust.”

Eck hasn’t been given an easy task in his initial season. The Lobos travel to Michigan for their season opener on Aug. 30, and also have a nonconference game against UCLA. The other out-of-league games are against a team he knows well, Idaho State, and his new in-state rival, New Mexico State. Eck will return to the state later this season when the Lobos travel to Albertsons Stadium to face Boise State on Oct. 11.