The Eck List debuts as the season finally opens
· Yahoo Sports
We’ll call it the Eck List.
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With the dawn of the 2026 college football season upon us, anyone with even a smidge of common sense knows Jason Eck isn’t long for the University of New Mexico. If he comes anywhere close to duplicating last season’s 9-4 run, chances are pretty good he’ll have a new mailing address by Christmas.
To that end, here’s a list we’ll update from time to time as the season unfolds. It shows some of the potential landing sites for the man who’s made football a cool, hip thing in the Land of Enchantment. There’s a short list of Power 4 schools who will potentially be in the market for a new coach by season’s end (and maybe sooner), and the reason Eck might be the man they’ll come looking for.
And, oh, by the way, UNM starts its season Saturday against Central Michigan at University Stadium. The more he wins, the more he lubricates the hinges on that ejection seat.
The Eck List
Florida State — So now we know what beating New Mexico State by 17 does to a guy like Mike Norvell. It puts you on the hot seat. Like, flaming hot. It’s just a matter of time before this $10 million/year man gets his walking papers. The Seminoles are 8-18 since making it to the Orange Bowl three years ago and have had four sub-.500 seasons in Norvell’s first six years. Eck has never coached in the Deep South (and, no, Hampton is not considered the Deep South). Not that it matters. Winners win wherever they are … right? FSU has the resources to dominate the ACC and Eck could be the man to do it.
Colorado — Picture this: Neon Deion returns to Florida State and one-and-done Colorado AD Fernando Lovo stages an Eck reunion in Boulder, giving the man he brought to Albuquerque a 500% pay increase for moving north and raising his kids in a place that’s a real life version of a holiday postcard. The Buffs have the funds to make the Big 12 their own, and after years of watching Sanders turn the program into a reality show with flashes of success, a grounded approach might suit them. Eck’s stabilizing force would calm the waters and make the program more about cohesion inside the locker room instead of an opening act for the cameras. It could be a perfect fit.
Rutgers — Greg Schiano is living proof you can’t go home again. His second tour of duty with the Scarlet Knights is a disaster and his team’s humiliating loss to UMass — UMass! — not only has people trying to print Schiano’s pink slip, but has some talking about relegating Rutgers out of the Big Ten. His contract runs through 2030 with a salary of $6.75 million in 2027, or roughly four times what UNM is paying Eck. Schiano’s buyout is estimated at $17 million, which is awfully big for a cast-strapped department. The question Eck faces is how badly does he want into the Big Ten? This is as low as you can possibly get.
TCU — Normally losing to Bill Belichick isn’t a bad thing, but it sure is when you’re Sonny Dykes and your Horned Frogs were favored in the Aer Lingus Classic in Ireland. Yeah, that’s a thing. Dykes is pulling down an estimated $7 million and is signed through 2028. Fort Worth is a recruiting hotbed and the Frogs have turned Amon G. Carter Stadium into a great home field advantage. Eck’s Lobos roster has 21 Texans on it, so fitting right in would be easy. TCU is hungry for a taste of its recent past, having made the national championship game in 2022. It’s not the Big Ten, but hey … not bad.
Wisconsin — Ahhh, the sacred cow. It’s the one job he covets above all else, the place where he walked on as a player and launched his coaching career in 1999 as a graduate assistant. Luke Fickell’s time in Madison appears to be running out. He’s just 17-21 and needs a breakout year to save his job. Bucky hasn’t won 10 games in seven years and anything less than that could spell the end. Neither Ohio State nor Michigan are on this year’s schedule, so it’s possible. Chances are the UW booster base is already reaching out to Eck’s agent, provided they can take the hit from what will be a buyout of roughly $20 million after this season.
Nebraska — Matt Rhule was supposed to be The Guy. But so was Scott Frost. And Mike Riley. And Bo Pelini. And Bill Callahan. Let’s face it, the Cornhuskers haven’t been the Tom Osborne Cornhuskers since the mid-90s. It seems recruiting to the nation’s heartland isn’t as easy as it used to be, and Rhule (extended last fall through 2032) could be shown the door if he doesn’t justify his $8.5 million salary. He’s 19-19 in three seasons. Eck’s arrival would be a boost, but Nebraska’s not the same as most jobs. Fans are married to the past, and they still see themselves as an elite program. That’s no longer true, but the pressure to be great is omnipresent in Lincoln. Big Ten? You betcha. Right fit? Maybe, considering his Midwest roots. Safe career move? Ehhhhh.
Kansas — Lance Leipold enters his sixth year with the Jayhawks and he’s coming off back-to-back 5-7 campaigns with losing records in four of his five go-rounds. KU is in the middle of a massive $500 million stadium upgrade and the last thing the school wants is a vanilla football team that’s more down than up. Eck could make a difference. Heck, he’s already turned a basketball town into a football-friendly environment in Albuquerque. Plus, the road to the Big 12 penthouse is a lot shorter and smoother than it is in the Big Ten. A challenging early schedule (Mizzou and Arizona State this month) could put Leipold in KU’s dog house.