Daniel Ray Gonzales (born January 13, 1976) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

. Prior to 2018, Gonzales had spent his college coaching career on

Rocky Long Roderick John Long Jr. (born January 27, 1950) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the defensive coordinator at Syracuse. Prior to being hired by Syracuse, Long was the defensive coordinator at New Mexico. He play ...

's staffs at the

and

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

Playing career

Gonzales attended

, where he was a three-year letterman for the

New Mexico Lobos The New Mexico Lobos are the athletic teams that represent the University of New Mexico, located in Albuquerque. The university participates in the NCAA Division I in the Mountain West Conference (MW) since 1999, after leaving the Western Athlet ...

at punter and

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

. As a senior, he won the Chuck Cumming Memorial award for morale and spirit, and the Lobo Club Award for unselfish devotion to the team.

Coaching career

Following his playing career, Gonzales joined the coaching staff at the New Mexico as a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research respo ...

from 1999 to 2002. He served as the team's video coordinator from 2003 to 2005. He was then promoted to a full-time assistant, coaching the team's

safeties Safety is the condition of being protected against harmful conditions or events, or the control of hazards to reduce risk. Safety may also refer to: Places * Safety Island, Antarctica Government * The Internet Stopping Adults Facilitating t ...

kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (sports magazine), in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the word used i ...

s, punters and

long snapper In American football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a center on special teams whose duty is to snap the football over a longer distance, typically around 15 yards during punts, and 7–8 yards during field goals and extra point att ...

s from 2006 to 2008. In 2011, Gonzales joined

's staff at

. He coached the

for six seasons, before being promoted to defensive coordinator prior to the 2017 season. He continued to coach the safeties. In 2018, Gonzales was hired as a part of

Herm Edwards Herman Edwards Jr. (born April 27, 1954) is an American football coach and former cornerback who was most recently the head football coach at Arizona State. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons, primarily with the Phil ...

' first staff at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

to serve as the defensive coordinator. On December 17, 2019, Gonzales was hired as the Lobo's new head coach, replacing Bob Davie.

Head coaching record

Personal life

Gonzales, an

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

native, is a 1998 graduate of the

where he earned his bachelor's degree in business administration and general management, and his master's degree in physical education and recreation. He and his wife, Sandra, have four children: Cole, Jake, Chloe and Abby.

References

External links

Arizona State profile

New Mexico profile

San Diego State profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzales, Danny 1976 births Living people American football punters American football safeties Arizona State Sun Devils football coaches New Mexico Lobos football coaches New Mexico Lobos football players San Diego State Aztecs football coaches Players of American football from Albuquerque, New Mexico