Mike Sanford Fired as UNLV Football Coach

The situation was clear entering this season: Mike Sanford needed to go at least 6-6 and take UNLV to a bowl game or he was out as the Rebels' football coach.

Any chance of reaching those goals died in the snow in a 45-17 loss at Air Force on Saturday, and Sanford was told on Sunday he would not return next season.

Sanford, 54, will coach the Nov. 28 season finale against San Diego State at Sam Boyd Stadium and stay on until Dec. 5. UNLV has a bye this week.

His five-year record is 15-43. Sanford has never had a winning season, and the Rebels are 4-7 this year.

"It's performance-based, absolutely," UNLV interim athletic director Jerry Koloskie said. "We needed to have more success on the field, and that's it."

Sanford told his players the news Sunday, and Rebels defensive end/linebacker Jason Beauchamp said though it was an emotional meeting, many saw it coming.

"There's empathy for him and his family," Beauchamp said. "At the same time, there are so many ways to look at it.

"Everyone has something different to say, but for myself and after having gone through all the years and all the work I put in, I feel like something needed to change. I don't know if that was necessarily it, but something needed to change. He had his time, we had our time, and not too much improved from the 2-10 days. Not much changed."

Beauchamp said change was better if it came "at the top" rather than the bottom.
As for who next will lead the Rebels, Koloskie said he would begin the search for a new coach rather than wait for a permanent athletic director to be hired. The search committee for the next AD is scheduled to meet Dec. 1.

"Right now, I am the AD, so I'll start looking at potential candidates, and who those candidates will be is my job," Koloskie said.

To read more from Mark Anderson of the LV Review Journal, click below

http://www.lvrj.com/news/unlv-sacks-football-coach-sanford-70173027.html