ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- New Mexico State football coach Tony
Samuel and his staff were fired Wednesday after leading the Aggies
to two winning seasons in eight years.
NMSU has had only four winning seasons in the past 35 years,
including the two under Samuel, who ranked third in career
victories at NMSU with a 34 and 57 record.
"We probably wouldn't be having this conversation if we were
six and five, but we were five and six" this season, Samuel said
during a news conference in Las Cruces. The Aggies were 4-3 in the
Sun Belt Conference.
NMSU's outgoing athletic director, Brian Faison, acknowledged
Samuel's contributions, but pointed out that the team is moving to
the Western Athletic Conference next season.
Faison said Samuel brought the football program "to another
level," but added: "The reality is we are moving to another level
of competition."
"There wasn't any one factor, there wasn't any one game, there
wasn't any one season," Faison said.
"I think you're going to go after a coach that brings strong
recruiting to the table," he said.
Samuel, who was in the final year of his contract, said he's
pleased with the work of his coaching staff and players.
"We accomplished a lot of great things here at New Mexico
State. We've done things that weren't done here before," he said.
NMSU has a program "with all the potential in the world,"
Samuel said.
More money and resources for recruiting and for the program will
be necessary to compete in the WAC, he said.
"Hopefully the next guy gets some of the things that I
wanted," Samuel said.
Faison acknowledged that Samuel worked with limited resources.
"We have got to go out and we've got to do a better job of
providing resources for our coaches to compete," he said.
Faison said management issues, academics and the team's
competitiveness were all factors in the decision, which he said was
reached Tuesday night. Samuel said Faison gave him the news less
than three hours before Wednesday's announcement.
The Aggies have not gone to a bowl game since 1960, and only a
Sun Belt Conference title would have ended that drought.
Samuel said he feels no animosity toward whoever will take his
place.
"I'm going to help him as much as I can because eight years of
my life have been put into this," he said. "I want to see this
program succeed."
Samuel was one of five black head coaches in 117 Division I-A
schools going into the season. Coach Fitz Hill resigned from San
Jose State on Monday after his fourth straight losing season.
Faison said NMSU had not contacted any possible successors to
Samuel, but "we'll move quickly at this point."
Faison, promoted to assistant vice president for athletic
development to help Aggie fund-raising, said NMSU hopes to hire a
new athletic director before hiring a new coach.
Aggie quarterback Buck Pierce, a senior, said the decision was
tough to hear.
"You're with them (coaches) through the blood, sweat and
tears," he said. "It's a very emotional time for me and a lot of
other players."
Samuel said he doesn't know where he's going.
"I'll be coaching somewhere," Samuel said. "That's the best I
can tell you right now."