UNM football head coach fires OC Warehime after loss to Wyoming

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – UNM Head Coach Danny Gonzales made a change to the offensive staff following Sunday’s loss against Wyoming.

Lobo Offensive Coordinator Derek Warehime was fired Sunday. Now, a familiar face in New Mexico will be filling his spot — former Cleveland High School Football Coach Heath Ridenour. 

“There was no shocker or dismay yesterday when I said who was going to be in charge of that side, and I think that’s a testament to him and the relationships that he’s built,” said Gonzales.

Ridenour joined the Lobos back in January 2022 as the quarterbacks’ coach.

Before that he coached at Cleveland High School where he saw a lot of success. He led the Storm to three state championships — two from undefeated seasons.

That’s not Ridenour’s only tie to local football.

“Heath was just inducted into the eastern Mexico Hall of Fame. He was a triple option quarterback in college, and has a lot of experience with that,” Gonzales said.

As the former Greyhound makes his away into a bigger role for the Lobos in the short period he’s been at UNM, coach Gonzales continuously credits Ridenour’s strong ability to build relationships with the team – even from a few former New Mexico rivals.

“We have a bunch of Rio Rancho kids on this team that could not stand Heath Ridenor, as they shouldn’t and they don’t feel that way. So I mean, you have to give him credit for building relationships in that time,” said Gonzales.

This major change happened right ahead of the most anticipated game of the year for fans the New Mexico State game.

So we’ll see if things look any different this weekend when the Lobos head down south to battle the Aggies on Saturday.