Blog: Firing Locksley now a bad move

I understand the frustration. The lowly 0-4 New Mexico Lobos have played so awful over the first four games that the group actually looks worse than last year's 1-11 squad.

The obvious solution for many fans is to ax the man at the top. Getting destroyed 45-10 to a mediocre UNLV team only fanned the flames of anger.

Firing Mike Locksley now, however, won't do the Lobos any good in 2010. No disrespect to Facebook, but disgraced coach Mike Leach can't install an offense in 10 days. A stirring speech won't solve this team's struggles on the defensive line and in the secondary.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Lobos fans should blindly follow Locksley no matter the deficit, the record or the poor play. All I'm asking is for everyone to think beyond the knee-jerk reaction.

If you fire Locks, then who's your coach?

Offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey? He's got head coaching experience, but is also responsible for this team's inability to sustain drives, score points and ultimately win.

Defensive coordinator Greg Mallory? Need I remind you that the Lobos have allowed the most points in all of Division I football?

Last year's interim coach George Barlow? It's an idea, but remember his coaching debut last year was a loss against UNLV. Seems like more of the same.

And I guarantee you that "big-time" coach won't want to step in after you've tossed your coach out mid-season. Ideally, Leach or any other big name from the outside would need to step in at the end of the season to get a jump on recruiting and installing their systems.

Like it or not, the Lobos should stick with Locks until at least Week 11 or Week 12. Firing him now only admits that the season is over and probably keeps this young team from growing over the next eight games.

Want the exact opposite opinion? Check out this pretty convincing slideshow from the Bleacher Report on why Locksley should be out the door .