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Tuesday, December 24, 2024 at 6:29 PM

Breaking Down UNLV Football’s New Coaching Staff

Author: Lucas Peltier

UNLV has officially introduced former Oregon offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo as its next head football coach.

Arroyo, who is coming off a Pac-12 Championship and Rose Bowl victory this past season with the Ducks, has begun to piece together and round out his coaching staff.

No coaches from the previous regime will return as the Rebels seek to get back to their first bowl game since 2014.

 

Peter Hansen – Defensive Coordinator

Hansen comes to UNLV after serving two different stints with Stanford over the past decade. The past 7 seasons he was Stanford’s inside linebackers’ coach and will serve in the same capacity with the Rebels. He brings an NFL pedigree, serving as a defensive assistant for the 49ers for two years. Hansen played college football and basketball at Arizona. UNLV will be his first coaching job outside of the bay area.

 

Danny Langsdorf – Quarterbacks/ Passing Game Coordinator

Langsdorf served in the same role last year at Fresno State and will bring an extensive collegiate and professional track record to the Rebels. Langsdorf was the offensive coordinator for Nebraska from 2015-17 as well as Oregon state from 2005-13. He was the quarterback’s coach for the New York Giants in 2014 and was also on staff with the New Orleans Saints from 2002-04. Langsdorf played college football at Boise State where he was a quarterback.

 

Cameron Norcross - Offensive Line/ Run Game Coordinator

Norcross spent the past four seasons at Vanderbilt and served on the Fresno State staff for four years before that. He was the offensive line coach at both stops and will serve in the same capacity for the Rebels. Norcross, who is from Ely, Nevada, played college ball at UNR where he was a three-year letterman and All-Big West selection on the offensive line. Norcross started his coaching career as a grad assistant at his alma mater and did an 11-year stint on the Wolfpacks coaching staff.

 

Jordan PaoPao - Tight Ends/Special Teams Coordinator

PoaPoa comes to UNLV after spending the last 7 seasons at the tight end coach at Washington. PaoPao will be tasked with fixing a special team’s unit that ranked 111th nationally in 2019 according to FPI. During his time with the Huskies, the team won two Pac-12 Championships and PaoPao coached in a bowl game every year.

 

Scott Baumgartner – Running Backs

A former collegiate receiver, Baumgartner knows his way around the Mountain West. He spent the past seven seasons on New Mexico’s coaching staff and did a nine-year stint with UNR before that. Baumgartner will bring more than three decades of collegiate coaching experience to the Rebels.

 

Kenwick Thompson – Linebackers

Thompson spent the past two seasons with Fresno State as the team’s linebackers’ coach and run game coordinator. He also spent 2013 with San Jose State as the team’s defensive coordinator. Thompson has spent time on the Cal, Vanderbilt, East Carolina, and Texas Southern coaching staffs as well.

 

Tre Watson – Cornerbacks

Watson spent the past two seasons at Oregon as a defensive grad assistant. A former college cornerback, Watson transferred from Central Washington to the University of Washington in 2012. He played in 25 games for the Huskies, recording 74 tackles and two interceptions.

 

Damon Magazu – Safeties

Magazu comes to UNLV after spending the last two seasons with Oklahoma as a defensive graduate assistant. Magazu played college football at East Carolina as a defensive back. He started 37 games during his career with the Pirates, registering 270 tackles and 11 interceptions.

 

Arroyo now has eight of his ten assistant coaches in place.

A defensive line and receivers’ coach have yet to be named. Arroyo also hasn’t named an offensive coordinator however its almost certain that whoever is named receivers coach will serve in that capacity.

This is a coaching staff that will be under immense pressure to produce and get UNLV football back to a bowl game.

A new stadium and new $34.8 million football complex won’t mean much if results on the field don’t follow.


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