Charlie Strong Hires Mike Sanford as Louisville OC

University of Louisville football coach Charlie Strong gave some insight into his offensive style with his first staff hire on Tuesday. Strong tapped Mike Sanford, a spread-offense mastermind, as the Cardinals’ offensive coordinator and assistant head coach. The pair worked under Lou Holtz together at Notre Dame in 1997-98, when Sanford served as the quarterbacks coach. – Louisville Courier-Journal

UNLV ’s Bobby Hauck agrees to three-year contract

Bobby Hauck, who went a remarkable 80-17 in seven seasons at Montana and led the Grizzles to three Football Championship Subdivision national title appearances, was hired Tuesday to be UNLV’s next coach. Hauck, 45, will be introduced at a news conference at noon today at the Thomas & Mack Center’s Board Room. He agreed to a three-year, $350,000 salary — plus an annual $150,000 completion bonus Ñ heavy on incentives. The Board of Regents has called a special meeting to approve the contracts for Hauck and Jim Livengood, who last week was hired at athletic director. – Las Vegas Review-Journal

UNLV Hires Montana’s Bobby Hauck

Sources close to the situation tell Football Rumor Mill that UNLV has hired Montana coach Bobby Hauck.

UNLV to interview Bobby Hauck, Dennis Franchione for job

UNLV’s search for a new athletic director dragged out, but the man now running the department apparently is making sure the search for a new football coach is handled quickly. One day after being hired as athletic director, Jim Livengood lined up interviews with Montana coach Bobby Hauck for Sunday and longtime head coach Dennis Franchione for Monday. One source close to the hiring process said those are the only two coaches who will interview for the position. Livengood, Arizona’s athletic director for 16 years before taking the UNLV job, did not comment on any specific candidates. He also said he didn’t have a timeline. “The most important thing is to get the right person in here,” he said. UNLV, which last had a winning season and bowl appearance in 2000, has been searching for the right coach. Mike Sanford was fired in November. Hauck and Franchione certainly have had plenty of success. Hauck is 80-17 at Montana with Friday’s 23-21 loss to Villanova in the Football Championship Series national title game. Franchione, who works for ESPN Radio, has a history of turning around programs, mostly notably New Mexico and Texas Christian. A coaching hire is expected soon. – Las Vegas Review-Journal

Could Franchione be headed to UNLV?

It’s been nearly two years since Dennis Franchione left coaching. I have to believe that he’s missed it from the day he’s walked out the door at Texas A&M. Franchione’s name has emerged as a leading candidate for the vacant job at UNLV, according to the Rebel Nation blog published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. According to the blog, sources indicated that Franchione has already inquired to school officials about the vacancy, created when Mike Sanford was fired earlier this week. Franchione is well-known in the Mountain West Conference, where he helped rebuild programs at New Mexico and TCU earlier in his career. And here’s the nugget that might be most attractive to the cash-strapped UNLV athletic department. Franchione is receiving a $4.4 million buyout from Texas A&M, including $1 million in 2010, minus what he earns at another job. – ESPN.com

UNLV Begins Search with Long, Impressive List

Indications are UNLV prefers someone with head coaching experience, and the following current head coaches have been floated: Idaho’s Robb Akey, Buffalo’s Turner Gill, Montana’s Bobby Hauck and Fresno State’s Pat Hill. Hill also has UNLV ties, having served as offensive coordinator in 1981 and 1982. But others have head coaching experience, such as Washington defensive coordinator Nick Holt (Idaho), Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter (Boise State, Arizona State) and San Diego State defensive coordinator Rocky Long (New Mexico). The other names sources have mentioned are Robert Anae, Brigham Young offensive coordinator; Rob Ianello, Notre Dame assistant head coach; Andy Ludwig, California offensive coordinator; Brent Venables, Oklahoma defensive coordinator and associate head coach; and Kirby Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers running backs coach. Three have local ties. Anae was UNLV’s offensive line coach in 1997 and 1998, overseeing the running game in the second season. Venables has recruited Las Vegas, helping the Sooners sign top players such as tailback DeMarco Murray. Wilson was a finalist for the UNLV coaching job in 2004 when Sanford was hired. Now it’s up to Rebels interim athletic director Jerry Koloskie to begin the search process — the permanent AD will finish it — and UNLV apparently is going to up the ante for a new coach. Sanford earned $425,000 per year; the new coach probably will make around $700,000. Sanford’s coordinators made between $145,000 and $170,000 annually; the successors probably will make more than $200,000. – Las Vegas Review-Journal

UNLV’s Mike Sanford will finish the season

UNLV coach Mike Sanford will not return next season. The school announced Sunday evening that Sanford has been fired, effective Dec. 5. Sanford will coach the Rebels final game of the season against San Diego State. Sanford is 15-43 during his five seasons at UNLV. He has never had a winning season during his time with the Rebels. UNLV is 4-7 this year… By staying until Dec. 5, Sanford will only be owed $225,000. If he had been fired before Dec. 4, the school would have owed him $287,500 per his contract. – ESPN

UNLV Fires Mike Sanford

The Mike Sanford era at UNLV will officially be over once the Rebels complete another disappointing season with their finale at Sam Boyd Stadium on Nov. 28 against San Diego State. Sources close to the situation confirmed the news to The Sun on Sunday night in the wake of the Rebels’ 45-17 loss on Saturday evening to Air Force. The athletic department later sent out a release with the news. The defeat dropped UNLV to 4-7, and for a second consecutive season under the fifth-year coach, a promising start to the campaign came to an unsavory halt down the stretch run. – Las Vegas Sun

UNLV playing for coach’s job

And there’s more at stake than just the Rebels’ first bowl bid since 2000. Like coach Mike Sanford’s job. In his fifth season at UNLV, Sanford has a 15-42 mark. His Rebels won just two games in each of his first three seasons and five in 2008. But after a 2-1 start this season, they lost five of their next six games, three by 35 or more points. After the second loss in that stretch, a 63-28 drubbing by Nevada, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that UNLV president Neal Smatresk was troubled by the state of the program. And the paper wrote last week that the Rebels likely had to reach a bowl game for Sanford to get a sixth year. – The Gazette

Larry Kehres in Line at UNLV?

Should Mike Sanford be fired as UNLV’s football coach, one name already has surfaced in conjunction with the potential opening. It has surfaced again and again and again and again on the discussion boards on the Sun Web site: Larry Kehres. “Hire Larry Kehres!” writes a fan with the user name revtomperl again and again and again and again. Who the heck is Larry Kehres? Larry Kehres is the head coach at Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio. He is the winningest coach, in terms of percentage, in NCAA history. Since becoming head coach in 1986, Kehres has guided the Purple Raiders to 284 victories against 21 defeats with three ties. Two hundred eighty-four victories. Twenty-one defeats. Three ties. – Las Vegas Sun

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