Rocky Long Retires; Brady Hoke Named SDSU Football Head Coach

Rocky Long, the all-time winningest head football coach in the Mountain West and San Diego State University’s second-winningest coach ever, announced he is retiring as head football coach. 

Long, who guided the Aztecs to an 81-38 record (.681) in nine seasons, led SDSU to three Mountain West titles (2012, 2015, 2016) and a bowl appearance in all nine years. 

"Coach Rocky Long's vision and leadership for Aztec football and our student athletes during the last 11 years will leave an indelible legacy on and off the field at SDSU," said SDSU President Adela de la Torre. "Similarly, Coach Brady Hoke, who is widely respected and shares Coach Long's deep commitment to the overall success of our student athletes, is an excellent fit to serve as Rocky’s successor. Since returning to SDSU, Brady has maintained the culture of athletic excellence that is distinctively SDSU and is committed to building an exciting and successful trajectory for Aztec football." 

Combined with his previous head coaching job at New Mexico from 1998-2008, Long is 146-107 (.577) over his career. His 143 victories in the MW (Long’s first three wins came while the Lobos were in the Western Athletic Conference) are 45 more than anyone in conference history. Long has been named the MW Coach of the Year three times (2002 while at New Mexico, and 2012 and 2015 at SDSU). 

"I want to thank everybody at this university and in this community that has allowed us to be successful," said Long. "The culture at this school and in this athletic department is something special." 

Long, who spent two seasons as the defensive coordinator with the Aztecs from 2009-10 prior to being named head coach, was one of just four active coaches to lead their current team to a bowl game in each of the last nine seasons, joining Alabama’s Nick Saban, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney and Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy, and one of five overall to lead a team to a bowl game from 2011-19. 

Since Long took over as the defensive coordinator in 2009, SDSU ranks 11th in rush defense (129.6) and interceptions (163), 14th in total defense (340.4), 20th in scoring defense (22.2), 22nd in turnovers caused (255) and 26th in defensive pass efficiency (122.0). 

This past season, the Aztecs finished 10-3, capped by a 48-11 win over Central Michigan in the New Mexico Bowl. SDSU, which lost its three games by a combined 13 points, is one of 10 schools to win at least 10 games in four of the last five seasons.

"Thank you for the memories," said Long. "I'll always be an Aztec at heart."

Hoke Named Head Coach

Hoke, who led the SDSU football team to its first bowl game in 12 seasons in his first year as head coach in 2009 and has twice been chosen as national coach of the year, has been named the program’s head coach, SDSU Director of Athletics John David Wicker announced.

"I feel really fortunate to be able to come back," said Hoke. "I can assure you we are going to keep going in the direction that we are going, and we always want to be better every day and that's what we're going to try to do."

Hoke brings 35 years of coaching experience at the collegiate level, including 12 seasons as a head coach at the University of Michigan (2011-14), San Diego State University (2009-10) and Ball State University (2003-08).

Hoke, who has received Coach of the Year accolades in three different conferences, returned to SDSU in 2019 as the defensive line coach, helping the Aztecs rank second in FBS in rush defense (75.4), third in scoring defense (12.7), and sixth in both total defense (287.8) and pass efficiency defense (110.25). 

In his first stint as head coach of the Aztecs, Hoke took over a program that was 9-27 in its previous three seasons (2006-08) and went 13-12 in his two years at SDSU from 2009-10. In 2010, SDSU finished with a 9-4 record, defeating Navy 35-14, in the Poinsettia Bowl. It was the Aztecs’ first bowl game since 1998 and started a stretch of 10 straight bowl games for the Aztecs (2010-present), which is tied for the 11th longest active streak in the country. Hoke was named the 2010 Mountain West Coach of the Year.

Following his time at SDSU, Hoke served as the head coach at Michigan from 2011-14, leading the Wolverines to a 31-20 record. Hoke directed the Wolverines to an 11-2 record and a victory in the Allstate Sugar Bowl in his first year in 2011. For his efforts, Hoke was named the Maxwell Football Club Collegiate Coach of the Year and the George Munger Award Coach of the Year, and was a finalist for three other Coach of the Year honors. Additionally, Hoke was chosen as the Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year by both the media and head coaches.

Hoke earned his first head coaching job at his alma mater, Ball State, where he coached for six years, culminating with a 12-1 campaign in 2008 and an undefeated record in Mid-American Conference play. That season, he led the Cardinals to their first-ever Associated Press Top 25 ranking and he was named the 2008 MAC Coach of the Year.

Prior to rejoining the Aztecs in 2019, Hoke served stints with the NFL’s Carolina Panthers (defensive line in 2018), the University of Tennessee (defensive line in 2017, interim head coach for two games) and the University of Oregon (defensive coordinator in 2016).