Mike Sanford Mike Sanford ( born April 20 , 1955 ) is an American college football coach and former player . He is currently the head football coach at Indiana State University , a position he assumed in December 2012 . Sanford served in the same capacity at the University of Nevada , Las Vegas ( UNLV ) from 2005 to 2009 , compiling a record of 16 – 43 . He is a graduate of the University of Southern California ( USC ) , where he played quarterback for the Trojans from 1973 through 1976 . Head coaching career . UNLV . On December 6 , 2004 , UNLV hired Sanford as the school ' s ninth head coach , taking over for the legendary John Robinson who went 2 – 9 his final year . Sanford inherited a program in decline . Some had blamed the program ' s problems on an inability to keep local talent at home . It was hoped that Sanford would reverse the fortunes of the long - suffering program with this new policy . His first two years at the helm produced just four total wins , on par with John Robinson ' s final season total . Sanford ' s Rebels achieved one of biggest victories in UNLV football history , a 23 – 20 overtime win at 15th - ranked Arizona State on September 13 , 2008 . Sanford said it was the biggest win of his coaching career . At the end of the 2009 season , UNLV announced it had fired Sanford . He left the Rebels after five seasons with an overall mark of 16 – 43 . Indiana State . On December 14 , 2012 , Indiana State hired Sanford as the school ' s twenty - fourth head coach , taking over for Trent Miles who went 7 – 4 his final year . Assistant coaching career . Sanford began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at USC in 1977 . Since then , he has served as an assistant coach for numerous teams in the collegiate and professional ranks , including San Diego City College , the United States Military Academy , Virginia Military Institute , Long Beach State , Purdue , USC , Notre Dame , the San Diego Chargers and Stanford . In 2003 Urban Meyer hired Sanford as his offensive coordinator at Utah . That year , the Utes won the Mountain West Conference Championship and won the Liberty Bowl . The next year , the Utes repeated as conference champs and finished the season 12 – 0 , including a win over Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl . Sanford ' s offense averaged 45 . 3 points a game , and quarterback Alex Smith was MWC Player of the Year as well as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy . The following spring , Smith was the first overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft , selected by the San Francisco 49ers . Louisville . On December 22 , 2009 , Sanford was named offensive coordinator and assistant head coach at the University of Louisville . After a lackluster offensive performance against Marshall , Sanford did not travel with the Cardinals for their next game , against North Carolina . He did not attend any of the practices in the week leading up to the game . Quarterbacks coach Shawn Watson served as offensive play - caller for that game . CBSSports . com ' s Brett McMurphy reported that Sanford had been fired and replaced by Watson . However , " The Courier - Journal " ' s Rick Bozich reported that Sanford was still with the team , but may be demoted to a position coach . Bozich later confirmed that Sanford was no longer offensive coordinator . The following Monday , Strong announced that Watson would serve as offensive coordinator for the remainder of the season , but that Sanford would remain on the coaching staff in another capacity . He also denied rumors that there had been an altercation between them during the week . On October 22 , Strong announced that Sanford was no longer with the program . Utah State . Sanford joined the Utah State coaching staff in March 2012 . He served as the assistant head coach and running backs / tight ends coach . Sanford previously worked with head coach Gary Andersen at the University of Utah .