Michigan became the latest and most intriguing addition to the college football coaching carousel when it shockingly fired Sherrone Moore on Wednesday. Names are already being thrown around left and right for the suddenly vacant position, with one analyst suggesting an intriguing dark horse candidate: New Mexico's Jason Eck.
Eck is wrapping up his first year as an FBS head coach with New Mexico and has impressed many over the last four months. His personality, energy and style make him a perfect fit for Michigan, Bruce Feldman of ‘The Athletic' speculated.
“If there is a wild card candidate, maybe it will come from the NFL, but we're going to throw out one name of a guy with Big Ten roots who would be an intriguing fit: New Mexico's Jason Eck,” Feldman wrote. “A former Wisconsin O-lineman, Eck has risen up the coaching ranks through the lower levels.
“Eck got New Mexico bowl-eligible for the first time since 2016, and he did it all with just 34 returning players, the fewest of any FBS roster. That earned the 48-year-old Mountain West Coach of the Year honors. Eck's teams are physical and fun to watch. He has a big personality and presence and I've been convinced for a while that he will be coaching in the Big Ten before long. The Lobos, picked to finish 11th out of 12 teams in the Mountain West in the preseason, face Minnesota in the Rate Bowl on Dec. 26.”
Michigan candidate Jason Eck's coaching profile
Eck's first game as a college football head coach in the FBS actually came against Michigan in Week 1. The Wolverines won, but New Mexico covered the 29.5-point betting spread in its 34-17 loss. Eck went on to lead the Lobos to a dominant upset win over UCLA two weeks later.
Eck got hired at New Mexico after just three seasons as a head coach at Idaho, which followed decades of success as an offensive coordinator in the FCS. He took the Vandals to the playoffs in each of his three seasons and went 10-4 in his final year before accepting the Lobos' offer.
New Mexico's turnaround from 5-7 in 2024 to 9-3 in 2025 was one of the biggest in the country. Inexperienced head coaches at lower levels rarely garner attention from Power Four programs, but Eck's frequent ability to turn programs around in a short time already has him in that conversation.
