Sanchez, UNLV say nothing official on football job

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Monday, Dec. 8, 2014 | 9:42 p.m.

Sports Illustrated and local media are reporting tonight that Tony Sanchez is finalizing negotiations to become the next UNLV football coach. A Sun source also confirmed the news.

But Sanchez, the Bishop Gorman High coach, and UNLV Director of Athletics Tina Kunzer-Murphy both responded in text messages tonight indicating reports were premature.

“Nothing more as of now,” Sanchez messaged.

A contract would have to be approved by the Nevada State Board of Regents. They’ve scheduled a special meeting for 1:30 p.m. Dec. 16 in anticipation of UNLV having a contract for them to vote on.

While all signs point to the contract being that of Sanchez, Kunzer-Murphy couldn’t confirm he’d be the new Rebels’ coach.

“Nothing new to report today,” she messaged.

Sanchez, who built Bishop Gorman into a national power, would be making the rare jump from high school to college head coach.

He would replace Bobby Hauck, who went 15-49 in five seasons and four times won just two games.

He would be the third coach all-time to go from high school to college head coach. He served one season as a graduate assistant in the mid-1990s at New Mexico State, his alma mater.

Sanchez won the Nevada state championship in all six seasons at Gorman, posting an 85-5 record and outscoring opponents 4,536-1,046. Gorman went 15-0 this season, including wins against six respected national opponents, to win the mythical national championship.

While Sanchez will be new to the college game, he’s more than seasoned in working with college-caliber players. In 2013, he was the head coach for the U.S. Army All-American game, spending a week working with five-star recruits in one of two elite national all-star games.

At Gorman, he produced 25 Division I players in five seasons, and a handful of others to lower-tier schools. This year, he coached the nation’s No. 1 ranked tight end prospect, a player committed to Notre Dame and an uncommitted four-star wide receiver prospect.

College coaches frequently recruit at Gorman, giving Sanchez a look into the most important aspect of coaching on the next level — recruiting. There were just three scholarship players from Gorman on this season’s UNLV roster and Rebel coaches rarely recruited at the local power. Sanchez will surely change that.

Gorman, in some ways, has everything UNLV needs. And Sanchez helped oversee the growth, including constructing a state-of-the-art, 41,324-square-foot training facility. It’s something UNLV football desperately needs, and something some feel could become a reality because of Sanchez’s fundraising connections.

Most of Gorman’s games against out-of-state opponents were nationally televised, including a handful each season by the ESPN family of networks. Gorman had more games on ESPN than UNLV. Gorman games also attracted more national media.

Sanchez is credited for his organizational skills in building a program and detailed game-planning. He’s a strong public speaker and great motivator.

But, of course, it’s a calculated risk by UNLV. They didn’t employ a search firm to fill the position and just a few other candidates emerged. It’s not immediately known how many others received interviews.

There are plenty of examples of successful high school coaches going on to excel in college. But those coaches first became college assistants.

Auburn’s Gus Malzahn was a high school coach for more than a decade in Arkansas before becoming the University of Arkansas offensive coordinator. Last season, he was the national coach of the year in leading Auburn to the SEC championship.

Baylor’s Art Briles was a high school coach in Texas for nearly 20 years before becoming Texas Tech’s running back coach in 2000. After three seasons at Texas Tech, he became the Houston head coach. At Baylor, he coached a Heisman Trophy winner in Robert Griffin III and nearly made the four-team college playoff this season.

The results aren’t as encouraging for coaches going directly to Division I head coach.

Todd Dodge led Southlake Carroll High School to three straight 16-0 records and the Texas state championships, but couldn’t duplicate the success at North Texas. North Texas went 6-37 in Dodge’s four seasons through 2010.

Gerry Faust spent nearly 20 years at Cincinnati’s Moeller High before making the huge jump to Notre Dame. Moeller won four national championships and had seven undefeated seasons during Faust’s tenure. At Notre Dame, though, he posted a 30–26–1 record and never contended for a national title.

At UNLV, though, a record slightly above .500 through five seasons would be a major breakthrough.

This is a developing story. Check back later for more.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21