It seems most here are beginning to appreciate the notion of Rocky Long as SU's DC.
For the non-converted, consider:
- He has taken SDSU to 9 bowl games in nine years (4-5 record). The Aztecs went to four other bowl games from 1969-2010 (41 years) when competing as what is essentially a Division 1 school.
- Long took his alma mater, Univ. of New Mexico, to five bowl games in six years as HC from 2002-07. The Lobos have been to a total of 13 bowl games in program history dating to the late 1930s.
- Since 2011, SDSU has defeated Stanford, Arizona State (twice), UCLA, Washington State, Cal, BYU, Cincinnati and Houston. There were a number of close defeats in there too: UNC and Missouri caught my eye.
For those that doubt Long's intentions here (and to be fair, that includes me to a degree)
- After helping UNM achieve bowl eligibility for seven straight seasons, Long resigned after 2008 to become a DC at SDSU (a conference foe). He was SDSU's DC for 2 years before being elevated to HC when Brady Hoke departed for Michigan.
Editorial: My wife is a SDSU alum (as is my father-in-law). I lived in San Diego for five years and to this day, spend time in America's Finest City every year. So, I have been paying relatively-close attention to Aztec football for the last 20+ years.
All that said, I love Dino, thrilled he's here is with us. As others have stated, Dino has never led a program for more than 3 years (and year 4 was less than ideal). Long would certainly help Dino on the defensive side of the ball,
but also provide some terrific tutelage/perspective to Dino as he plots course on the next 4-5 seasons of Syracuse football.
Long shoulda/woulda been a serious candidate for the USC job, with his age being the lone demerit. He is arguably the best football coach on the West Coast (I would say that he is). For the last decade, he's neck and neck with USC and Stanford for the best Division I program in the state of California, and that is saying something. With relevant context -- aka pound-for-pound, resource-for-resource -- there is no doubt San Diego State is just that.
I don't think people here realize what an absolute dump the Aztecs' home stadium is (formerly Jack Murphy-turned-Qualcomm Stadium). Long has very little to recruit toward, other than the San Diego weather and somewhat lax academic standards (compared to Cal, USC, UCLA, Stanford, etc.). This last point also helps underscore the fact that Long is adept at finding and recruiting "non-traditional" football talent, which is a skill that Dino needs more of in the SU Football Office. Long has also had 18 Aztecs drafted since 2011. In that same span, our SU program has had 12 players selected.
To call this a home run hire would not do it justice. Grand slam.
