Maryland football head coach profile: Jason Eck

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As the search for Maryland’s next head coach continues, Maryland has hired TurnkeyZRG, a search firm to assist the athletic department with its national head coaching search. We dive into our third head coaching profile of New Mexico head coach Jason Eck.

Name: Jason Eck

Age: 49

Record: 41-18, fifth year

Background:

Jason Eck is the top Group of Six prize on the coaching carousel this cycle because of what he has done at New Mexico. Eck started his coaching career as a general assistant at his alma-mater Wisconsin, where he once played offensive line from 1995-1998. In 2002, he got his first coaching job in the FBS as a general assistant at Colorado. From 2004-2015, like many successful coaches have, he worked his way up the coaching ladder as a position coach at various FCS schools. His first big time job came in 2016 when he was hired as the offensive line coach at South Dakota State, one of the premier programs in the FCS. After 3 seasons at SDSU, Eck would be promoted to offensive coordinator, eventually leading to him landing his first head coaching gig at Idaho.

Eck spent two seasons as the head coach of the Idaho Vandals where he led them to a 26-13 record over the span of two seasons in Moscow, Idaho. That includes leading them to a 18-6 record in Big Sky conference play. After leading the Vandals to three consecutive FBS playoff appearances, Eck would land a job as the head coach of the New Mexico Lobos.

Profile

Eck has found a lot of success in Alberqueque as he took over a program that has never really experienced what it’s like to be good at football. That has changed since Eck’s arrival as he has led the Lobos to a 15-5 record as he is halfway through his second season at New Mexico.

What stands out about Eck the most is the identity his teams play with. Eck’s football teams are known to play an extremely tough brand of football. There is no surprise as Eck, a former offensive lineman himself, has preached physicality and discipline through his entire coaching career. Under Coach Eck, the Lobos have a turnover margin of plus-2.57. That is something that could be extremely important for a coach if he can translate that to his next team at the Power Four level.

Eck was impressive during his first year at New Mexico in 2025, where he led the team to a 9-4 record overall. So far in 2026 he has New Mexico off to a 6-1 star, with their only loss coming to Oklahoma in Norman. The Lobos currently sit at 19th nationally in points per game (37). On top of that, Eck has the Lobos sitting at 1st in the FBS in points against per game (11.3) while taking their top-30 scoring offense into November.

Eck has been listed as a potential candidate for the Maryland job, as he will be with any Power Four job that opens this cycle. He is expected to be the top candidate on everyone's life along with Wake Forest head coach Jake Dickert. There was a lot of speculation that Eck would take the job at his alma mater, Wisconsin, had they moved on from Luke Fickell. With that seeming unlikely now, it appears Eck will be available to the coaching carousel this cycle. Would a move to the Big Ten, not in Madison, be what moves the needle? He's drawn continued support in College Park for the vacancy, and outside of football, has proven himself to be one who can connect with fans, whether through his 'The Office' skits or referencing Madden in press conferences. With a need to energize the fanbase, arguably no candidate does that like Eck.

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