Jan. 12, 2011
San Diego State Football Press Conference
Head coach Rocky Long hiring announcement
Aztec Athletics Center
SDSU Director of Athletics Jim Sterk
Opening Statement:
"It was about 25 hours ago that I learned that we needed to have this press conference. My goal was to be prepared, be ready and to make a decisive move if we needed to. It was important to move quickly, but only if we had the right guy. We have the players coming back next week, the contact period for recruiting starts again Friday and signing date coming up the first Wednesday in February.
"During the time previously, Rocky Long convinced me that he was the right guy and that's why we are here today and not on a search that could have taken weeks and lost critical momentum and progress of the program. Before we had an opening, I reached out to make sure that Rocky was interested. We wanted to make sure we had a person who fits what we wanted in our head coach. The traits and qualifications that we wanted in our football coach are integrity, character, passion for teaching and coaching, putting the student-athlete experience first, experience as a head coach and success as a head coach.
"This is an important hire and I don't need to tell you that it's not just for today, but for many years to come. We are very fortunate to have a coach of this caliber and this qualification on staff. This past season was a start. It was a great turnaround and winning the Poinsettia Bowl was fun and everyone enjoyed it. The student-athletes and coaches made it happen and we all got to have a lot of fun around it. We're thankful to coach Hoke, the players and the staff that accomplished that 9-4 record, but it's important to continue that momentum. Coach Long played a huge role in that success. Rocky has been instrumental in this turnaround and helped lay the foundation for where we are today. He's been familiar with our program for a long time and now because of the past two years, our players are familiar with him.
"What is really impressive is his history as a head coach in the Mountain West Conference. His teams (at New Mexico) were bowl eligible in seven of his final eight seasons and an important note, in the 15 years prior to Rocky there were only three winning seasons (for the Lobos).
"I'll let coach Long express the feelings about where San Diego State can go from here, but I can tell you it involves winning and championships. Rocky is a very special coach and he can bring this program to places that we have never been before. It's going to take a great effort from him, our coaches and our student-athletes, but also our alumni and friends who support this program and want to compete to the very best.
"We made a huge jump this past season, but by no means have we reached any glass ceiling. I would now like to introduce the 18th head football coach at San Diego State University, please welcome coach Rocky Long."
Head Coach Rocky Long
Opening statement:
"Let me first thank San Diego State, Jim (Sterk) and president (Stephen) Weber for giving me this wonderful opportunity. I had choices over the last couple of weeks to be someplace else, but when you are around here and you see what this place can be and see how special it can be, there was absolutely no choice in my mind.
"It's really exciting for me to be given another chance to be a head coach at a place that I think can be successful. There are a lot of things that will not change. I thought coach Hoke did an amazing job getting this program started in the right direction. The foundation has been poured - it is not solid yet. There is a long way to go before we are going to be considered a great program. Everything is in place here that we can be a great program. To have the opportunity to be the head coach at a place that has so much potential is unique. Not that many guys get that kind of a chance and they don't get that kind of a chance a second time, especially. I'm appreciative, I'm excited and I'm (even) a little nervous, because I know how good it can be.
"I think we're going to continue to be good. (In a) transition with a guy who has been here, has seen how it was done and plans to make very little change to how it's going to be done, the Mountain West Conference championship is the first goal and will always be the first goal, but I don't think it will stop there. There are teams in our league who go to BCS bowl games and win the BCS games. There is absolutely, absolutely no reason that cannot be us. No reason what so ever. It's going to take a lot of hard work with a lot of good players."
"The most important thing in any program is the student-athletes. We are blessed with really good guys in our football program. Good football players, who have learned to work hard, learned what is important, not just in football but in life and know how to act, be appreciative and how to treat people. That I promise you, will not change."
On if he will remain the defensive coordinator:
"I have a couple of people who understand our defense. There are only a couple (of people) that I trust, because our defense is so unique. I'm trying to entice them to come here as we speak. If I get one of those two, no I won't run the defense, I'll let them do it. If I can't get one of those two, then there's no reason to change, (because) I'll run it. I've done that in the past, where I was the head coach and run the defense. Part of the positive of being a former head coach and then you have two years to sit back and watch, you get to see the things that you did wrong and hopefully do them better the next time. I think a head coach needs to be separate from being a coordinator if at all possible, but we're not going to change the defense, because I believe in it and we're going to get a whole lot better at it, so if I can't get the right guys then I'm going to do it."
On where he's going to look for an offensive coordinator:
"I going to try and go outside. What we've done on offense here the past two years, we've made tremendous strides. We have a great quarterback coming back and there's absolutely no reason to change. I have to find the guy who can come in and continue the same system. There are two or three of them out there and I've had some positive feedback from them."
On if he's talked to the commitments for the upcoming signing class:
"I haven't personally made contact with all of them, but everyone has been contacted. Every commitment seems to be solid. Starting on Friday, we will personally see every one of those kids to make sure they still want to come here. We are still in the process of recruiting a couple of very good local football players that we hope we can still entice."
On how long he plans to stay at SDSU:
"This is not a stepping stone for me. If I'm honest with myself, which I usually am, and I'm honest with everyone I come in contact with, this is going to be my last coaching job. I hope it lasts 10 to 15 to 20 years, so I better make it my best coaching job."