Mike Sanford Sr. enters his second season on The Hill as Special Teams Coordinator/Running Backs coach under his son, head coach Mike Sanford, after a four-year stint as the head coach at Indiana State.
During his first year on The Hill, Sanford's special teams ranked among the nation's best in return prevention as opposing teams returned punts for a total of just 72 yards, a mark which ranked No. 37 nationally, on just 12 returns - No. 31 nationally. Kickoff specialist Alex Rinella saw his touchback percentage jump from 27 percent to 38 percent as he put 24 of his 62 kickoffs into the endzone and improved his kickoff average from 61.5 yards to 62.1 yards.
Sanford's run as head coach at Indiana State included the program's first postseason win since 1983 when the Sycamores defeated Eastern Kentucky 36-16 in the first round of the FCS Playoffs in 2014. For his efforts, Sanford was named the AFCA Region Coach of the Year.
Prior to taking the post at Indiana State, Sanford spent one season as the Assistant Head Coach at Utah State under former coach Gary Andersen where he also mentored the running backs and tight ends. During the 2012 campaign, the Aggies ranked 26th nationally in Total Offense (460.5 ypg.) and 36th in scoring offense (34.4 ppg.) Running back Kerwynn Williams earned first-team All-Western Athletic Conference honors after leading the conference in all-purpose yards (163.0 ypg.) and rushing (106.4 ypg.).
No stranger to the Bluegrass State, Sanford spent two seasons at Louisville as the offensive coordinator and tight ends coach (2010-11) following a five-year run as the head coach at UNLV (2005-09). His 2008 Rebels upset No. 13 Arizona State and tied for the top redzone scoring offense (.950) in the nation, matched only by Ohio State, while allowing just 1.2 sacks per game, the 15th-best mark nationally. During his time at UNLV, 29 players earned All-MWC honors including 2007 MWC Defensive Player of the Year Beau Bell and 2006 MWC Freshman of the Year Ryan Wolfe. Casey Flair set a school record and tied a MWC mark with 47 consecutive games with a reception in Sanford's offense.
Sanford spent two seasons as the offensive coordinator at Utah under Urban Meyer as the Utes went 22-2 and won consecutive bowl games and Mountain West Conference championships, including the 2005 Fiesta Bowl over Pittsburgh to cap the 2004 season in which Utah finished undefeated and ranked No. 4 by the Associated Press. Quarterback Alex Smith went on to become the No. 1 overall draft pick in that year's NFL Draft, the second No. 1 overall draft pick Sanford helped develop (Keyshawn Johnson, 1996, USC).
Prior to Utah, Sanford was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Stanford (2002), after a three-year run in the NFL as the wide receivers coach of the San Diego Chargers (1999-2001). Sanford's collegiate coaching stops include Notre Dame, USC, Purdue, Long Beach State, VMI and Army.
At his alma mater, USC, Sanford coached the wide receivers from 1989-96, a stretch which included the development of No. 1 overall draft pick, wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson (1996) by the New York Jets. Johnson was a consensus All-American both years at USC (1994-95) and earned MVP honors of the 1995 Cotton Bowl and 1996 Rose Bowl. Johnson was the third first-round selection coached by Sanford at wide receiver, joining Curtis Conway (1992) and Johnnie Morton (1993).
As an assistant coach, Sanford has participated in 11 bowl games with four programs including the Rose and Cotton bowls. He began his coaching career at USC in 1977 as a graduate assistant during John Robinson's first stint at USC. In 1978, he earned his first full-time coaching position as the defensive coordinator at San Diego City College.
A native of Los Altos, Calif., Sanford played collegiately at USC from 1973-76. Sanford and his wife, Melinda, are the parents of Lindsay and Mike, and the grandparents of six.
THE SANFORD SR. FILE
PERSONAL
Born: April 20, 1955
Hometown: Los Altos, Calif.
College: USC, `77
Wife: Melinda
Children: Lindsay and Mike
PLAYING CAREER (Quarterback)
College: USC (1973-76)
COACHING CAREER
1977: USC (Graduate Assistant)
1978: San Diego City College (Defensive Coordinator)
1979-80: Army (Wide Receivers/Tight Ends)
1981-82: VMI (Quarterbacks/Wide Receivers/Tight Ends)
1983-84: Long Beach State (Quarterbacks/Wide Receivers)
1985-86: Long Beach State (Offensive Coordinator)
1987-88: Purdue (Quarterbacks)
1989-96: USC (Wide Receivers)
1997-98: Notre Dame (Quarterbacks)
1999-01: San Diego Chargers, NFL (Wide Receivers)
2002: Stanford (Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks)
2003-04: Utah (Offensive Coordinator)
2005-09: UNLV (Head Coach)
2010-11: Louisville (Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends)
2012: Utah State (Assistant Head Coach/Running Backs/Tight Ends)
2013-16: Indiana State (Head Coach)
2017: WKU (Running Backs/Special Teams Coordinator)
2018: WKU (Running Backs)
BOWL EXPERIENCE
1973: Rose (USC, Player)
1974: Rose (USC, Player)
1975: Liberty (USC, Player)
1976: Rose (USC, Player)
1977: Astro-Bluebonnet (USC, Coach)
1984: Peach (Purdue, Coach)
1989: Rose (USC, Coach)
1990: Sun (USC, Coach)
1992: Freedom (USC, Coach)
1993: Freedom (USC, Coach)
1994: Cotton (USC, Coach)
1995: Rose (USC, Coach)
1997: Independence (Notre Dame, Coach)
1998: Gator (Notre Dame, Coach)
2010: Beef `O' Brady's (Louisville, Coach)
2011: Belk (Louisville, Coach)
2012: Famous Idaho Potato (Utah State, Coach)
