UNLV should pursue Hawaii’s Nick Rolovich as next football coach

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2019 | 2 a.m.

With Tony Sanchez out at UNLV after Saturday’s game at UNR, it’s fair to start considering which candidates will emerge during the coming coaching search. At Monday’s press conference, athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois said that her ideal candidate would possess “character, competence, energy and intellect.”

In a perfect world, that candidate would also be able to post a conference record better than Sanchez’s 12-27 mark in the Mountain West.

Which leads to the first coach UNLV should contact: Hawaii’s Nick Rolovich.

If you want to win in the Mountain West, wouldn’t the best way to do that be by hiring someone who has won in the Mountain West? Rolovich has proven he can do that, as he’s posted a 10-6 record in the league over the last two years. His Warriors won the West Division this season and will face Boise State in the conference championship game on Dec. 7.

During his four years as a head coach (all at Hawaii), Rolovich has posted a 26-26 overall record, with two bowl appearances and a third coming this year.

Rolovich’s calling card is his offensive system. He played quarterback at Hawaii under run-and-shoot progenitor June Jones, and Rolovich has adopted that scheme and modified it for the modern game. The Warriors rank No. 24 in scoring this season at 33.9 points per game, led by a passing attack that averages 333.0 yards per game (No. 7 nationally). It’s an exciting style of play that works in the Mountain West.

At 40 years old, Rolovich is still a young coach with upside. And as the lowest-paid coach in the Mountain West — his base salary is reportedly $425,000 per year — UNLV is actually in position to offer him a significant raise, which might entice the Hawaii alum to leave the island for the so-called Ninth Island.

At her press conference on Monday, Reed-Francois said that UNLV will conduct a national search, but her first call should be to Rolovich.

Other potential candidates:

If this search is anything like the men’s basketball search — and Reed-Francois drew a direct comparison on Monday — don’t expect much information to come to light during the process. Reed-Francois likes to run a tight, leak-proof ship, and no one had any idea T.J. Otzelberger was even in the running until the day he was announced as head coach.

The football search should play out in a similar fashion, but social media was alight with speculation immediately after Sanchez’s firing was announced, so let’s take a look at some of the names that have popped up already (or could in the next few weeks).

Up-and-coming

Keith Heckendorf

When you watch Chicago Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky and find yourself asking, "How did that guy get drafted in the first round?," the answer (at least partially) is Heckendorf. He was the QB coach at North Carolina during Trubisky's breakout season, and he moved on to be the OC at Arkansas State this season. Reed-Francois got a chance to see the Red Wolves up close when they came into Sam Boyd Stadium in Week 2 and dropped 43 points and 498 yards of total offense in a blowout win over UNLV. Heckendorf has also spent time as an offensive assistant at Western Carolina and Nebraska.

Mike Sanford Jr.

The name is probably a turn-off to Rebels fans who remember the tenure of Mike Sanford Sr., but junior has some coaching cred, as he was the offensive coordinator at Notre Dame before being hired as head coach at Western Kentucky in 2017. After going 6-7 with a bowl loss in his first year with the Hilltoppers, the team went 3-9 in his second year and Sanford, 37, was abruptly fired. He landed at Utah State as offensive coordinator, and he has helped the Aggies field the No. 32 passing game in the nation (274.7 yards per game) this season.

Jay Hill

Hill, 44, is currently one of the hottest coaches at the FBS level. After spending more than a decade as an assistant at Utah, he has run up a 52-28 record during his six-year stint at Weber State, including a 30-9 mark over the last three seasons.

Kendal Briles

Currently the offensive coordinator at Florida State, the 37-year-old Briles has fit the "hot young offensive mind" mold for a while now. He called plays for a Houston team that finished seventh in scoring in 2018 (41.7 points per game), and though FSU has managed just 28.3 points per game this year (No. 66 nationally) he is still thought of highly. The drawback comes off the field; he was an assistant at Baylor under his father, Art Briles, while the dad allegedly fostered a culture of violence toward women.

Experienced and (probably) available

Butch Jones

The former Cincinnati and Tennessee head coach is currently an assistant at Alabama. You’d expect an experienced power-conference head coach to be out of UNLV’s price range, but Jones was reportedly in talks to become Maryland’s tight ends coach last offseason; if he was open to that job (which ended up paying $175,000 per year), then maybe he’d be willing to accept a modest salary to take over the Rebels. With a career record of 84-54, UNLV could certainly do a lot worse.

Paul Petrino

Petrino has been at Idaho for seven years, but after three consecutive losing seasons he is reportedly on the hot seat. If he is fired, UNLV could be interested due to the way he steered the Vandals to a 9-4 record and a bowl win in 2016. Petrino’s career record (28-55) is a bit deceiving because the Vandals went 2-21 over two years while making the jump from FBS to Division I.

Todd Graham

Graham had a nice little run at Arizona State, posting back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2013 and 2014 before slipping to 18-20 over his final three campaigns. He’s a career 95-61 coach, and while he’d probably want more than UNLV has to offer — he made $3.2 million per year at ASU — his $12 million buyout could make him more amenable to a Group of 5 salary.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.