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UNLV Football: Rebels’ Tony Sanchez bets on Vegas

By Doug Carey

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Tony Sanchez is a double-down type of football coach. He’s certainly in the right place.

To say UNLV’s first-year coach faces overwhelming odds would be an understatement. He’s taking over a Rebels team that has recorded two winning seasons since 1994. Vegas hasn’t paid attention to the Rebels since the Randall Cunningham era, and the fan base clearly doesn’t lack for other entertainment options.

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Enter Sanchez, who went 85-5 and won six championships in as many seasons at nearby Bishop Gorman High School. That type of resume usually results in nice coordinator job at the FBS level. Sanchez skipped over that when UNLV athletic director Tina Kunzer-Murphy named him UNLV’s 11th head coach.

Kunzer-Murphy knows all about Notre Dame’s Gerry Faust and North Texas’ Todd Dodge. Both were star high school coaches who struggled mightily after going straight to the top job at the college level. Kunzer-Murphy ignored the history. She really had no choice. UNLV football had become the worst thing you can be in Vegas: Boring.

Sanchez may yet be the next high school coach to flame out at the college level, but it won’t be for lack of passion. While past UNLV coaches have barely acknowledged Sin City, the 40-year-old Sanchez has embraced it all. Everything from the uniforms to the Rebels’ home field has been rebranded to mirror the bright lights of Vegas.

Vegas, Baby!

“We needed somebody who could come into this area and connect immediately,” Kunzer-Murphy told John Marshall of the Associated Press. “There have been a lot of coaches who have come through Las Vegas who were great people, but we were really irrelevant, I think, in this city and the state of Nevada. Tony has a chance to make us relevant again.”

So this season if you catch a UNLV game on TV – and that remains a big “if” – you’ll see Rebels helmets that have “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” stickers on the back. You’ll see jerseys that have “Las Vegas” on the pants and a field that has the famous diamond symbols from the old Stardust on the yard markers.

“UNLV football had become the worst thing you can be in Vegas: Boring.”

If Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau end up doing the coin toss at the home opener against UCLA on Sept. 12, we’ll know Sanchez has taken this Vegas thing too far. But for now, with Sanchez firmly in the honeymoon period, the vibe is good. UNLV has a heartbeat for the first time in years, and Sanchez deserves all the credit.

On the Field

Now for the hard part: Competing in the Mountain West, where the Rebels were picked to finish last in the six-team West Division. Nobody expects Sanchez to turn things around this season, but there are a few key pieces already in place.

On offense, senior quarterback Blake Decker is learning another new offense and hoping for better protection than last year. The Rebels offensive line allowed 38 sacks last season and remains a huge concern heading into the opener at Northern Illinois on Sept. 5. Decker needs to cut down on the 18 INTs he threw last season, but at least he has a stellar target in wide receiver Devonte Boyd, last season’s Mountain West Freshman of the Year.

The Rebels offense will need to put points on the board because the defense is at least a year away from being competitive. Sanchez inherits a unit that has struggled mightily in recent years – really, much longer than that, if we’re being honest – and allowed 513 yards per game last season. If nothing else, the Rebels will be strong at linebacker, where junior Tau Lotulelei is primed for a breakout campaign.

UCLA and Michigan Early

The schedule doesn’t offer Sanchez and Rebels any favors, starting with a tough opener at Northern Illinois before a surprising home date against UCLA and a road contest at Michigan. The Rebels will likely need a win at home over Hawaii on Nov. 7 to escape the West Division cellar.

Sanchez isn’t thinking about last place, of course. Like so many Vegas visitors, he’s thinking big. He may leave empty-handed and without a job, but give the man credit. He’s all-in and ready to double-down.

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