Tony Sanchez Most Important UNLV Football Coach Ever?

[Boston Rebel 2]

Odom and now Mullen and the national media...everyone mentions our facilities as a reason for being able to attract back to back good coaches now. That practice facility doesn't happen without Sanchez if what I have read here is correct? If so you can argue Sanchez is as important as any football coach we have had since you don't get Odom without the facility.

Part of that is certainly the Raiders stadium and the Rebels locker room as I have heard that mentioned a number of times as well. Whose idea was that to include separate UNLV locker rooms? Maybe that is how the Raiders and Davis wanted it?

 

[LVRebel2000]

That was an important item, for sure. That started the investment in the program which allowed it to get to where it is now.

 

[Meister_Rebel]

Fertitta Money.

 

[RebelSoldat]

Yeah, it was the Fertittas more than anything else.

 

[LVRebel2000]

Fertitta Money.

Which was, from what I remember, tied to Sanchez getting the job, wasn't it?

 

[Stoker016]

Which was, from what I remember, tied to Sanchez getting the job, wasn't it?

Yes

 

[Poster17]

I've said it for years.......when Sanford complained about the facilities he was not wrong. He just went about it in a horrible way. Our facilities, or lack there of, were completely a huge reason why we were struggling as a program and would continue to if changes were not made. There was no investment in the program at that time. The hiring of Sanchez to help get the Fertitta's to put up money for the practice facility was huge.

 

[rebel5280]

Fertitta Money.

Sure wood be nice to see them get back involved, on the NIL end of things here!

 

[reagan21]

This is a slippery slope. Without Hauck the Fertitta's don't front the money tied to Sanchez.

Thanks, Bobby

 

[Boston Rebel 2]

I've said it for years.......when Sanford complained about the facilities he was not wrong. He just went about it in a horrible way. Our facilities, or lack there of, were completely a huge reason why we were struggling as a program and would continue to if changes were not made. There was no investment in the program at that time. The hiring of Sanchez to help get the Fertitta's to put up money for the practice facility was huge.

And a huge risk if you think about it. Sort of a chicken and the egg thing, but investing in your program to eventually get a good coach is a lot easier than hoping for a good coach so you can eventually invest in your program.

 

[Poster17]

This is a slippery slope. Without Hauck the Fertitta's don't front the money tied to Sanchez.

Thanks, Bobby

That's because people started to see that Sanford was correct, and investments to facilities and the program as a whole needed to be made.

 

[Boston Rebel 2]

This is a slippery slope. Without Hauck the Fertitta's don't front the money tied to Sanchez.

Thanks, Bobby

How so? They wanted Hauck hired as well?

 

[reagan21]

That's because people started to see that Sanford was correct, and investments to facilities and the program as a whole needed to be made.

In short, the most important coach in UNLV history is Urban Meyer

 

[reagan21]

How so? They wanted Hauck hired as well?

No, they wanted Hauck fired and Sanchez put in. Sanchez would have been a coach 1 year earlier but we made a bowl game. UNLV wasn't going to fire a head coach after taking the team to a bowl. The next season he won 2--3 games which allowed UNLV and the Feritittas plan to go through

 

[Boston Rebel 2]

No, they wanted Hauck fired and Sanchez put in. Sanchez would have been a coach 1 year earlier but we made a bowl game. UNLV wasn't going to fire a head coach after taking the team to a bowl. The next season he won 2--3 games which allowed UNLV and the Feritittas plan to go through

Ok got you, that makes sense.

 

[1994Rebel]

Fertittas we're about half of the money. Tony and Harper raised the rest. They got aldelson, Wynn, gaughns, Stevens, MGM,maloofs and many more families involved. No Tony no facility. Harper was at every design meeting and every pledge pitch. No Tina, not Desiree.
I got to give Harper credit. Two great hires so far. He will make another one come March.

 

[j. spilotro]

I think that’s why most fans were ok with his hire. On the surface, terrible hire. But it was for long term investment.

 

[Boston Rebel 2]

Fertittas we're about half of the money. Tony and Harper raised the rest. They got aldelson, Wynn, gaughns, Stevens, MGM,maloofs and many more families involved. No Tony no facility. Harper was at every design meeting and every pledge pitch. No Tina, not Desiree.
I got to give Harper credit. Two great hires so far. He will make another one come March.

We got as lucky with Harper as we did landing Odom.

 

[Rebel1986]

We got as lucky with Harper as we did landing Odom.

Harper has been long term at UNLV since 2012, so it wasn't luck that he is at UNLV, but it was smart that they made him the AD when it opened up.

 

[Boston Rebel 2]

Harper has been long term at UNLV since 2012, so it wasn't luck that he is at UNLV, but it was smart that they made him the AD when it opened up.

Good example of someone climbing the ladder

 

[Meister_Rebel]

I'm hoping Harper is keeping an eye on the Volleyball program. He hired our current coach. In the coaches second year we couldn't even make it into the MWC tournament that was played on our home court.

 

[unlove]

Fertittas we're about half of the money. Tony and Harper raised the rest. They got aldelson, Wynn, gaughns, Stevens, MGM,maloofs and many more families involved. No Tony no facility. Harper was at every design meeting and every pledge pitch. No Tina, not Desiree.
I got to give Harper credit. Two great hires so far. He will make another one come March.

Yup, it takes a village. Add to that list those involved in making Allegiant happen - Mark Davis, Adelson, the NV Resort Assn., Gov. Sandoval, Steve Hill, a few key legislators, and ironically UNLV (which provided the “public facility” rationale to throw $750M in room taxes at the project). But if I had to point to one person(s) it would be the Fertittas. It was their interest in the program and desire to build the football facility (and hire Sanchez) that really got the ball rolling.

 

[Bullmastiff 1]

That's because people started to see that Sanford was correct, and investments to facilities and the program as a whole needed to be made.

We all laughed at his locker room rant. And he was 100% right.

 

[reagan21]

I'm hoping Harper is keeping an eye on the Volleyball program. He hired our current coach. In the coaches second year we couldn't even make it into the MWC tournament that was played on our home court.

They should bring home David Hyte. He’s currently the assistant head coach ant BYU and has been for quite a while. We played against each other in high school and then we were teammates at UVSC (now UVU). He transferred to BYU and won a nationl championship there.

I’m not sure he’d move from Utah since he loves it there and his wife is from there, That being said, he’d be great,

 

[j. spilotro]

We all laughed at his locker room rant. And he was 100% right.

It was just poor timing.

But he was absolutely right.

 

[Bullmastiff 1]

It was just poor timing.

But he was absolutely right.

Be knew it was a problem after year 1,2,3,4 he waited to voice his displeasure 'publicly' on his way out the door. It came off like sour grapes.

I don't know if he was pressuring admin behind closed doors or not..Have to imagine he was to some degree.

Like him or not Chode up in Reno started damn near day one, saying an investment needs to begin in football.

 

[RebelinWA]

Be knew it was a problem after year 1,2,3,4 he waited to voice his displeasure 'publicly' on his way out the door. It came off like sour grapes.

I don't know if he was pressuring admin behind closed doors or not..Have to imagine he was to some degree.

Like him or not Chode up in Reno started damn near day one, saying an investment needs to begin in football.

I’ve had a lot of negative exchanges with reno fans over the years. I honestly never really believed until a couple years ago that we would ever be in a position where them catching up was virtually impossible. They’re now basically a less successful Wyoming with worse facilities.

 

[Rosegreen1]

JRob was probably the most important coach in UNLVFB history. He revamped the program, created a buzz for a few years, renovated the stadium and was working on more to be done. Took over a 0-16 program that was DEAD and resurrected it by beating and competing well vs B1G and SEC programs. If not for that, I’m not sure UNLV football would even be a program today.

Sanford was a solid coach, actually notched a top 15-20 win vs Arizona State and beating Utah etc. Just couldn’t get that 6th win. Where the program went wrong was hiring Hauck and Sanchez. Those two were not a fit for the program and they were disasters. I have zero respect for Sanchez and the AD that hired him. The fact Sanchez is being heralded as important makes me sick, he oversaw the most embarrassing loss in college football history and couldn’t develop a game plan or players. Come on guys, JFC.

Facilities schmalities, hiring a HS football coach to get a facility built is so UNLV, if true.

 

[RebelinWA]

JRob was probably the most important coach in UNLVFB history. He revamped the program, created a buzz for a few years, renovated the stadium and was working on more to be done. Took over a 0-16 program that was DEAD and resurrected it by beating and competing well vs B1G and SEC programs. If not for that, I’m not sure UNLV football would even be a program today.

Sanford was a solid coach, actually notched a top 15-20 win vs Arizona State and beating Utah etc. Just couldn’t get that 6th win. Where the program went wrong was hiring Hauck and Sanchez. Those two were not a fit for the program and they were disasters. I have zero respect for Sanchez and the AD that hired him. The fact Sanchez is being heralded as important makes me sick, he oversaw the most embarrassing loss in college football history and couldn’t develop a game plan or players. Come on guys, JFC.

Facilities schmalities, hiring a HS football coach to get a facility built is so UNLV, if true.

Even at Gorman, Sanchez was more of a Jimmy's and Joe's coach than a X's and O's. Their game plan was very vanilla. But vanilla works when your talent is unmatched.

 

[unlove]

I’ve had a lot of negative exchanges with reno fans over the years. I honestly never really believed until a couple years ago that we would ever be in a position where them catching up was virtually impossible. They’re now basically a less successful Wyoming with worse facilities.

Ouch 😂

 

[Bullmastiff 1]

JRob was probably the most important coach in UNLVFB history. He revamped the program, created a buzz for a few years, renovated the stadium and was working on more to be done. Took over a 0-16 program that was DEAD and resurrected it by beating and competing well vs B1G and SEC programs. If not for that, I’m not sure UNLV football would even be a program today.

Sanford was a solid coach, actually notched a top 15-20 win vs Arizona State and beating Utah etc. Just couldn’t get that 6th win. Where the program went wrong was hiring Hauck and Sanchez. Those two were not a fit for the program and they were disasters. I have zero respect for Sanchez and the AD that hired him. The fact Sanchez is being heralded as important makes me sick, he oversaw the most embarrassing loss in college football history and couldn’t develop a game plan or players. Come on guys, JFC.

Facilities schmalities, hiring a HS football coach to get a facility built is so UNLV, if true.

I am not a big Sanchez guy at all. However he was the right hire at the time because it secured the Fertitta complex/support. In no other universe does a school with UNLVs track record believe hiring a HS coach is the best way to fix a program. Notre Dame tried it years ago, they have endless resources and it was a titanic failure. But UNLV gambled. They got the facility. Sanchez did better than Hauck with W/L minus the bowl season. He just wasn't a good enough Xs and Os guy.

I'd put Sanchez over Robinson. Not for X's and O's but just being the catalyst of the football facility. I don't know it's close though I can see the argument for Robinson.

Bobby Hauck wasn't/isn't a bad football coach. Prior to UNLV he was like 80-17 with three (maybe 2) appearances in FCS title game. The problem was Hauck was an awful fit. He inherited a successful program at Montana and kept it rolling. He was the wrong guy though for a rebuild project like UNLV. He wasn't charismatic, he didn't like rubbing elbows with boosters and all the other crap UNLV needed.

Sanford was so damn close with that year 4 team. The ASU/ISU wins...Rebs were leading in a few games heading into the 4th quarter that got away.

It's pretty bad when you can make an argument Sanfords year four team at 5-7 was one of the 5 best teams we've had in the last 20 years.

 

[Rosegreen1]

The Hauck and Sanchez era were pretty brutal, there was a severe lack of football identity in those years + Arroyo era as well. Odom established an identity and culture right away. Similar to how JRob did right away with the Baylor win. Sanchez did nothing for the program as a coach. Being friends with a donor doesn’t qualify him as important, especially when you had a dumb AD that had issues and had no business being AD.

I see donors asking for strings attached, see it all the time but a HS coach? It’s a level of stupidity I haven’t seen. Next we’ll have a thread about the most important AD in UNLV history and thanking the AD that hired a HS coach and canned Rice midseason to destroy a basketball program.

 

[dcut03]

As for the OP, the most important hire was Odom. He got us nationally relevant, ranked in the top 25, and opened the door for a guy like Mullen.

Odom doesn't come without the facilities. That is for sure.

Saying Sanchez was the most important hire? It's a little backwards. I get it, but it is a little disingenuous. He was a failure of a coach and horribly unqualified. Also set us back in terms of perception given that we tried that move at all.

It did get us the facilities. I do not regret it, but maybe we try to high a UND assistant or something to keep the Fertittas happy instead?

 

[Rosegreen1]

It did get us the facilities. I do not regret it, but maybe we try to high a UND assistant or something to keep the Fertittas happy instead?

We had an AD that was supremely stupid and lazy, she didn’t know anything about anything. It gets me very agitated how everything went down those few years under the dumb AD. Took 5 months and several ****ups to find a CBB coach when the entire reasoning for the move to can Rice was to get a head start to “find the right guy”.

You think the AD would be capable of holding a conversation with a prominent booster and suggest an alternative direction of the football program? AD was a pushover and likely was pegged as a moron from Fertitta from the jump. Hence the result we got.

 

[Boston Rebel 2]

As for the OP, the most important hire was Odom. He got us nationally relevant, ranked in the top 25, and opened the door for a guy like Mullen.

Odom doesn't come without the facilities. That is for sure.

Saying Sanchez was the most important hire? It's a little backwards. I get it, but it is a little disingenuous. He was a failure of a coach and horribly unqualified. Also set us back in terms of perception given that we tried that move at all.

It did get us the facilities. I do not regret it, but maybe we try to high a UND assistant or something to keep the Fertittas happy instead?

That certainly would have been the better option but if we had to do it all over again and the only way we get the facility is with Sanchez then I do it again in a heartbeat because no facility no Odom and no Mullen. Which is why in terms of importance he is as important as anyone.

 

[dcut03]

That certainly would have been the better option but if we had to do it all over again and the only way we get the facility is with Sanchez then I do it again in a heartbeat because no facility no Odom and no Mullen. Which is why in terms of importance he is as important as anyone.

I get it.

But you could also say that Hauck being bad enough to fire 1 season after a bowl game was just as important.

I agree if this was the only way, then it was worth it. Bottom line, the Fertittas willing to donate and get this thing rolling is the most important factor. The fact that we had to hire their friend to do it was an unfortunate byproduct of all of this.

 

[TimothyC3]

Without Tony Sanchez there wouldn’t be a Ferttita football complex. Without the Fettita football complex Odom and now Mullen would not have even considered the UNLV job. It’s that simple. UNLV football right now has P4 infrastructure in place and competive facilities with any program in the country regardless of conference affiliation.

 

[RebelinWA]

I think a football complex would have been in play regardless of Tony being here. The Fertitta family already have multiple buildings with their name on it on campus, so they might have been in play to donate towards a complex. The difference is I don't think they would have put up as much money, nor put in the effort to make it as nice as it is without him.

They agreed to donate a larger share than what they were planning to in order to get Tony one more year. Even after their man got fired, I have to hand it to them for following through and putting their money where their mouth was.

 

[Rebel1986]

I think a football complex would have been in play regardless of Tony being here. The Fertitta family already have multiple buildings with their name on it on campus, so they might have been in play to donate towards a complex. The difference is I don't think they would have put up as much money, nor put in the effort to make it as nice as it is without him.

They agreed to donate a larger share than what they were planning to in order to get Tony one more year. Even after their man got fired, I have to hand it to them for following through and putting their money where their mouth was.

The tennis facility donation from the Fertitta family was back in 1993 with a later additional amount for an upgrade, and this is the only building as far as I know that is named after a member of the Fertitta family prior to the football complex. If there are multiple buildings named after the Fertitta family, what buildings are those? I do not know of any past donations made to UNLV football, prior to the one they gave through Coach Sanchez, by the Fertitta family. I do not know of any donations to the football program, prior to that for the football complex, so I am not sure where it comes from that a donations for a new football complex was in play by the Fertitta family?

Where did it come from that they already were going to donate to a new football complex and agreed to donate a large share than what they were planning to donate?

 

[TimothyC3]

The tennis facility donation from the Fertitta family was back in 1993 with a later additional amount for an upgrade, and this is the only building as far as I know that is named after a member of the Fertitta family prior to the football complex. If there are multiple buildings named after the Fertitta family, what buildings are those? I do not know of any past donations made to UNLV football, prior to the one they gave through Coach Sanchez, by the Fertitta family. I do not know of any donations to the football program, prior to that for the football complex, so I am not sure where it comes from that a donations for a new football complex was in play by the Fertitta family?

Where did it come from that they already were going to donate to a new football complex and agreed to donate a large share than what they were planning to donate?

Exactly. Before Sanchez the UNLV football infrastructure was a disaster. JRob talked about. So did Sanford. The only improvement to UNLV infrastructure was around 2000 under JRob where UNLV was able to install artificial turf and lights. That was it! The Fertitta complex was designed by the same design firm that built both Gormans and Univerity of Oregon football complex. UNLV’s practice facilities are elite. They are an exact duplication of the UO facilities who were built by Nike. Not my opinion. But the opinion of a former Oregon Duck:

“Third-year defensive back Deommodore Lenoir knows his way around elite facilities, as he spent his college career at Oregon, and he said UNLV stacked up nicely.”

“UNLV, I love their locker room,” Lenoir said. “It reminds me of Oregon’s. The whole setup was exactly how ours was. The facilities are just like Oregon’s, too.”

Next will be an enclosed and air conditioned football field.