New Mexico State’s offensive coordinator has been fired following a social media investigation

Oct. 11 – New Mexico State offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tyler Wright has been fired, a university spokesman confirmed to the Journal Friday morning.

Sam Guzman of KTSM-9 News was first to report the news.

Wright, NMSU’s first-year offensive coordinator, has not been with the team since the Las Cruces Sun-News published a report Sept. 27 detailing more than 150 posts containing derogatory and offensive language dating back more than a decade were posted on his social media account.

NMSU athletic director Mario Moccia told the Sun-News at the time that Wright would remain away from the team as the school conducted an investigation. In Wright’s absence, assistant head coach and offensive line coach Andrew Mitchell took over the game management.

“The university made a decision based on the facts it received,” Sanchez said in a pre-scheduled news conference previewing NMSU’s Tuesday game against Louisiana Tech. “It’s a tough deal. We love Tyler, you know, we dated him, he’s a good guy.”

As Sun-News reports, the posts in question included homophobic and racist slurs as well as frequent references to former Ugandan warlord Kony. Many were posted on

“It is unfortunate that he made some comments during his studies,” Sanchez added. “That was a long time ago. But it’s one of those deals where it’s like, I understand the university’s position, but I also understand the fact that we have kids all over the country that we’ve given a second chance and made bad mistakes.

“And then there’s a guy who is now paying the price (for what he did) at the exact same age and maybe being a little too outspoken about maybe some of the things he said to his teammates. That’s a great lesson for guys.” On our team, it’s a tough lesson for him. He is a good football coach. I’m sure he’ll get another chance, and I believe he has a chance.

A native of Granbury, Texas, Wright was hired by former head coach Jerry Kill as NMSU’s tight ends coach and special teams coordinator in December 2021 after previous stints at TCU and UT-Permian Basin. Head coach Tony Sanchez named him NMSU’s offensive coordinator in January after Tim Beck left for Vanderbilt.

Wright’s previous posts containing offensive language appear to have been deleted from his account.