NMSU hires former Lobo assistant as new RBs coach
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New Mexico State has hired Jamie Christian as its running backs coach, the program announced Monday via news release.
The 54-year-old coaching veteran joins the Aggies after spending two seasons as Oregon State’s special teams coordinator. He replaces former NMSU running backs coach, general manager and assistant head coach David Cobb, who was recently fired after being put on administrative leave.
Christian coached at rival New Mexico from 2020-23, working as the Lobos’ running backs coach for his final three seasons on staff.
"We're excited to welcome Coach Christian to (NMSU)," head coach Tony Sanchez said. "He is a proven coach with experience developing players and contributing to successful programs … His experience coaching running backs at multiple levels will be a great asset to our program as we get ready for the season."
A former fullback at Fresno State, Christian served as Sanchez’s running backs coach while the latter was the head coach at UNLV. In Christian’s second season with the program, the Rebels rushed for 214.5 yards per game, the program’s highest average since 1979.
Before working with Sanchez, Christian held a variety of coaching roles at Houston, Arizona State, Sacramento State, Idaho and Northern Arizona.
Friday, NMSU announced that Cobb had been fired; it is still unclear why. Speaking to media members that day, Sanchez said the program was working through who might coach the Aggies’ running backs following Cobb’s firing.
“We’ll have something to announce next week,” he said. “Obviously the administration is dealing with stuff, so I can’t really comment on that right now … But yeah, we’ve got that taken care of, and we’ll announce that early next week.”
Sean Reider covers college football and other sports for the Journal. You can reach him at sreider@abqjournal.com or via X at @lenaweereider.
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