HOLY TOLEDO! Tulane hires former UCLA coach to replace Scelfo

C-USA Sports Fans

New Green Wave coach possesses over 30 years of coaching experience

On Monday, December 11th, Bob Toledo became the 37 th head football coach in Tulane history.

Toledo, 60, brings a wealth of experience to New Orleans. He offers the Green Wave over 30 years of college coaching experience, 11 of which were spent as a head coach. His teams have played in 13 bowl games, including seven New Year’s Day games. He has not only had success on the field, but he is well respected in the college coaching community.

He comes to Tulane from the University of New Mexico. He spent this season as the Lobos’ assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. New Mexico finished the year with a 6-6 record and earned a berth in the inaugural New Mexico Bowl. The Lobos’ offense featured three first team all-conference selections, which included the Mountain West Conference’s leading rusher Rodney Ferguson.

The college-coaching veteran is best known for the seven seasons he spent as head coach at UCLA from 1996-2002. During his time in Los Angeles, he led the Bruins to a 49-32 mark. He won two PAC-10 titles and appeared in two Rose Bowls. In 1997 and 1998, Toledo posted back-to-back 10-win seasons and compiled an impressive 20-game win streak. In 1997, he was the finalist for three different national coach of the year awards.

UCLA defeated several of college football’s traditional powers during Toledo’s reign. These included the likes of Texas (twice), Alabama (twice), Michigan, Ohio State and Texas A&M.

Toledo’s Bruin teams were known for their explosive offenses. Under the leadership of quarterback Cade McNown, the Bruins averaged 40.5 points and 482.6 yards per game in 1997.

The long-time coach also spent four years as the head coach at Pacific, which has since eliminated its college football program. From 1979 to 1982, he led the Tigers to a 14-30 record.

Toledo replaces Chris Scelfo, who was fired after eight seasons. Scelfo finished with a 37-57 record at Tulane. He was 6-17 in his final two years, after leading the Green Wave to two bowl appearances in his first six seasons.