NMSU GM, RBs coach David Cobb out, announcement on replacement to be next week

New Mexico State general manager, assistant head coach and running backs coach David Cobb is no longer with the team.

The news was first reported by James Baca through his “Aggregator” blog on Substack.

An NM State athletics spokesman declined to say why Cobb has departed when asked by the Las Cruces Sun-News on Friday, July 31. Aggies coach Tony Sanchez said after Friday’s practice that he couldn’t comment on the reason, but says an announcement on Cobb’s replacement will come next week.

“We’re working through that right now. I will have something to announce next week,” Sanchez told the Sun-News after Friday’s practice. “Administration is going through stuff. I can’t really comment on that right now, but fair question… We’ve got that taken care of. We’ll announce that early next week.”

I asked NMSU coach Tony Sanchez on who will be coaching RBs this season with David Cobb’s sudden departure from the staff. He says they should have an announcement on that sometime next week.

He couldn’t comment on why Cobb is gone. Said administration is dealing with it. pic.twitter.com/v7UdNuEDz6

— Nick Coppola (@Nick_Coppola__) July 31, 2026

Baca also reported that NCAA representatives were on NM State’s campus sometime this week. The same NM State athletics spokesman declined to confirm or deny this. It is unknown whether this alleged visit is connected to Cobb’s departure or not, if the visit actually took place.

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Cobb joined NM State in 2023 under former coach Jerry Kill’s staff as the Aggies’ NFL liaison and Director of Scouting. He became NM State’s running back coach in 2024 after Sanchez was named the Aggies’ head coach, and received additional titles as general manager and assistant head coach in 2025.

Cobb’s rushing unit in 2024 ranked third in Conference USA with 180 rushing yards per game, and helped future NFL running backs Seth McGowan and Mike Washington Jr. each earn All-CUSA honors and rush for over 700 yards apiece. The run game regressed in 2025 to rank last in FBS in both rushing yards and yards per carry, and Cobb helped sign transfers such as James Jones (Delaware State) and TJ Washington Jr. (Iowa) to try to improve matters in 2026.

Cobb became an integral part of NM State’s recruiting efforts after Sanchez was promoted to head coach, working directly with him to recruit and sign players at all positions, not just running backs. His promotion to general manager last year made him one of the program’s leaders in developing strategies for roster construction, NIL budgets, player retention efforts and staff management.

Prior to NM State, Cobb was a scout for the Carolina Panthers in 2022, a scouting intern for the Tennessee Titans in 2020 and a running back in the NFL, CFL and Alliance of American Football from 2015-19.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: NMSU GM, RBs coach David Cobb out, announcement on replacement to be next week