Mike Locksley Mike Locksley ( born December 25 , 1969 ) is an American football coach . After serving as an assistant coach for several college football squads , he became the 29th head coach of the University of New Mexico Lobos football team . Early life . Locksley grew up in inner - city Washington D . C . , and attended Ballou High School . College playing career . Locksley played college football at Towson University . He redshirted his first year and then spent two seasons sharing time at safety and then cornerback , backing up Towson veteran Bryant Hall . For the 1990 season he had 43 tackles and two interceptions at safety , after he filled in for the injured Aaron Bates . He was named the Tigers ' Defensive Player of the Year for his senior season . He graduated in the spring of 1992 with a degree in marketing , but knew that he wanted to be a college coach . Coaching career . He served as defensive backs coach and special teams coach at Towson University for the 1992 season , then defensive coordinator at Naval Academy Preparatory School in 1993 ( defensive backs ) and 1994 ( defensive line ) , was outside linebackers coach at the University of the Pacific for 1995 , then spent the 1996 season coaching tight ends and split ends at Army Black Knights football . Locksley became the running backs coach for the University of Maryland Terrapins football under head coach Ron Vanderlinden in February 1997 . Ron Vanderlinden named Locksley to the additional post of recruiting coordinator , replacing Chris Cosh who left to take the defensive coordinator ' s job at Michigan State , in February 1998 . After Vanderlinden was fired , in 2000 , and Ralph Friedgen was named head coach , Locksley and wide receivers coach James Franklin were the only two assistants to be retained by Maryland . In February 2003 , after six years at Maryland , he was named as running backs coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Florida under Ron Zook , replacing Tyke Tolbert , who left to be a coach with the Arizona Cardinals of the NFL . Locksley was named offensive coordinator at the University of Illinois Fighting Illini in January 2005 , replacing Larry Fedora who went to Oklahoma State University , pairing Locksley again with head coach Ron Zook . He is credited with luring at least nine players from the Washington D . C . area for Illinois from 2005 through 2008 , including wide receiver Arrelious Benn , 2007 Big Ten Freshman of the Year . New Mexico . He was named head coach of the New Mexico Lobos on December 9 , 2008 . He signed a six - year contract worth $ 750 , 000 annually . In late May 2009 , a former administrative assistant at New Mexico filed an age and sex discrimination complaint against Locksley with the Equal Opportunity Commission . The complaint was filed by Locksley ' s former administrative assistant Sylvia Lopez . Lopez claimed to have been subjected to age and sexual discrimination before being transferred out of Locksley ' s office . The claims were later withdrawn . In late September 2009 , Locksley was reprimanded for an altercation with an assistant coach , in which he hit the assistant . He was subsequently suspended without pay for ten days . He was not on the sideline for the game against UNLV on October 24 , 2009 . Locksley led his Lobos to 1 – 11 records his first and second seasons . Despite fan outcry to fire him , he will return for his third season . The high buyout is a large reason UNM cannot fire him . UNM athletic director Paul Krebs , who made the decision to retain Locksley , expects improvement in the 2011 season . Personal life . Locksley along with his wife Kia have four children , three sons , Mike , Jr . , Meiko , and Kai , and a daughter , Kori . Kia is a yoga instructor . She helped teach some members of the Fighting Illini football team yoga in the summer of 2008 .