SAN DIEGO _ San Diego State has called a news conference for Wednesday afternoon where, according to a source close to the school, it will announce Rocky Long is no longer the head football coach and defensive line coach Brady Hoke will once again lead the program.
It is a stunning turn of events.
It was almost nine years to the day _ Jan. 12, 2011 _ that SDSU announced Long as the Aztecs' head coach after Hoke left to become head coach at Michigan.
Long gathered his staff together Wednesday morning off campus to let them know what was happening.
Earlier this week, Long said it would be the staff's first meeting since the holidays and that "we plan on mapping out where we go from there."
They will be going their separate ways, as it turns out.
Long was said this week to be actively seeking a defensive coordinator position with a Power Five school.
He reportedly interviewed Monday at Syracuse. There are a pair of Pac-12 schools _ USC and Washington State _ looking for defensive coordinators as well.
Long on Monday would neither confirm nor deny a social media report that he was looking to leave when reached Monday by the Union-Tribune, saying "As of now, I'm still the head football coach at San Diego State."
Why Long would want to leave at this point was the subject of much speculation, including whether he was asked to make changes on his staff. The Aztecs ranked in the bottom 20 in scoring this season and offensive coordinator Jeff Horton was under fire from fans throughout the year.
Other potential reasons ranged from leveraging offers elsewhere in order to get a raise for himself and/or staff members to seeking a new challenge in the twilight of his career.
Long, who turns 70 on Jan. 27, is the second oldest head coach at the FBS level (Ohio's Frank Solich is 75). He was under contract at SDSU through the 2023 season.
Was Long content to close out his career at SDSU or did he want one more opportunity to put his 3-3-5 defense against Power Five schools?
Long has said that his happiest days in coaching were when he served as a defensive coordinator.
He served as DC for three other schools besides SDSU _ UCLA (1996-97), Oregon State (1991-95) and Wyoming (1981-85).
"I am going to be 70 years old, so, obviously, it's in the back of your mind how long you're going to go," Long said Monday. "But I haven't made any decisions yet.
"I haven't thought that deep about it. All I've thought about is how much longer I might go and in the process what might be in store with me along the way."
SDSU enjoyed unprecedented success during the Long era.
The Aztecs have made a school-record 10 straight bowl appearances, nine of them since Long became head coach.
He was 81-38 as head coach at SDSU, which is second only to Don Coryell (104-19-2) in victories at the school.
The Aztecs recently capped a 10-3 season _ their fourth season in five years with double-digit victories _ with a 48-11 New Mexico Bowl win over Central Michigan.
Long, who came to SDSU after going 65-69 in 11 seasons as head coach at New Mexico, is the winningest coach in Mountain West history.
Long was hired as SDSU defensive coordinator in 2009 by Hoke, who came from Ball State to take the job after Chuck Long (no relation to Rocky) was fired following the 2008 season.
Hoke returned to SDSU last year when Long hired him as SDSU's defensive line coach.
Hoke, 61, has had an eventful time between his departure and his return.
He went 31-20 over four seasons at Michigan, but his win total decreased each season, from 11-2 to 8-5 to 7-6 and finally 5-7, prompting his firing following the 2014 season. Hastening his departure was going 1-3 against both Ohio State and Michigan State.
Hoke returned to coaching after a year off when he was hired as Oregon's defensive coordinator in 2016. A year later, he served as Tennessee assistant head coach/defensive line coach and was interim head coach for two games after head coach Butch Jones was fired. At both Oregon and Tennessee, Hoke found himself out of a job after head coaching changes.
He most recently served as defensive line coach for the Carolina Panthers before being fired in December 2018 during a coaching staff shakeup on the team.
SDSU's resurgence a decade ago began under Hoke, who coached the Aztecs to a 4-8 record in 2009 and then 9-4 in 2010. The latter season ended with a 35-14 Poinsettia Bowl victory over Navy, giving the Aztecs their first nine-win season in 33 years. It was SDSU's first bowl appearance in 12 years.
There are certain to changes among the assistant coaches. Hoke is expected to interview current staff members Thursday.
