Mountain West Connection - Brian Polian hired as Nevada head coach, rest of staff coming togetherAll you need to know about the Mountain West, and then somehttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/50409/mwc-fav.png2013-01-10T13:00:05-08:00http://www.mwcconnection.com/rss/stream/35768952013-01-10T13:00:05-08:002013-01-10T13:00:05-08:00Nick Rolovich stays as Nevada OC, Pistol to remain
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<p>Nick Rolovich took the offensive coordinator job at Temple over a week ago, but apparently had a change of mind.</p> <p>The Pistol offense is looking like it will be staying in Nevada, as Nick Rolovich has <a target="_blank" href="http://www.mwcconnection.com/2012/12/30/3818606/nevada-offensive-coordinator-nick-rolovich-temple">changed his mind about taking the Temple offensive coordinator job just over a week ago</a>.</p>
<p>The news that Rolovich switched course was <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/BryanSamudio/status/289067167754899457">first reported by Bryan Samudio of the NBC affiliate KRNV</a>. The Reno Journal-Gazette also has <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CDUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rgj.com%2Farticle%2F20130110%2FSPORTS06%2F301100010%2FNevada-football-Nick-Rolovich-returns-Wolf-Pack-OC-assistants-stay-put&ei=b23_UKySFpORqwGh6IHgCw&usg=AFQjCNGcR3jpWRevtqsFr4WGIVsxzeaBeQ&sig2=iRv0ZFly4QfUijcY9VUpNw&bvm=bv.41248874,d.aWM" target="_blank">multiple sources confirming that Rolovich will be back in Reno for the 2013 season</a>.</p>
<p>The reasoning behind Rolovich is likely due to Nevada hiring Brian Polian away from Texas A&M to replace Chris Ault as head coach. Keeping Rolovich at Nevada is a big deal, because the Pistol offense is the equalizer that the Wolf Pack have against teams with more talent.</p>
<p>The one twist that Rolovich brings to the Pistol offense is the deep passing games, and that makes the Pistol offense even more difficult to defend. This is possibly the best news that Nevada could have, because Polian has never been a head coach. By keeping Rolovich around the school did not have to find an offensive coordinator late in the hiring process.</p>
<p>However, do not expect the 33-year-old coach to be an offensive coordinator for much longer, he could land a head coaching job within a few years.</p>
https://www.mwcconnection.com/football-5/2013/1/10/3858694/nick-rolovich-to-remain-offensive-coordinator-for-nevadaJeremy Mauss2013-01-07T16:10:58-08:002013-01-07T16:10:58-08:00Nevada officially hires Brian Polian
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<figcaption>Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Nevada has officially hired Brian Polian who most recently was Texas A&M's special teams coach to replace Chris Ault as their head coach.</p> <p>Over the weekend there were reports that <a target="_blank" href="http://www.mwcconnection.com/2013/1/5/3841360/brian-polian-nevada-head-coach">Nevada offered Brian Polian to replace legendary coach Chris Ault</a>, but now the<a target="_blank" href="http://blogs.rgj.com/packblog/2013/01/07/wolf-pack-officially-hires-brian-polian-as-new-football-coach-at-475000-per-season/"> </a><a href="http://www.rgj.com/article/20130107/SPORTS06/130107022/Blog-Wolf-Pack-officially-hires-Brian-Polian-new-football-coach-475-000-per-season" target="_blank">Reno Journal-Gazette is reporting that the hire is all but official</a>. All what needs to be decided next is for the Board of Regents to approve the hire this Friday.</p>
<p>Polian has agreed to a five-year contract worth $475,000 per season, which is similar to the amount that Ault made over the past few seasons. While Polian has been a special teams coach and recruiting coordinator for most of his career, so there is reason for concern of him getting the bump to head coach.</p>
<p>However, Polian talks about his impressive list of coaching mentors:</p>
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<p>"It is a dream come true for me to become a head coach, and there have been many mentors and friends that have helped along the way. Marv Levy, Dom Capers, Tony Dungy and Jim Caldwell are all great men that I learned so much from when they allowed me to spend time around their teams and coaching staffs.</p>
<p>Coaches like Nick Saban, Jim Hofher, Charlie Weis, Jim Harbaugh and Kevin Sumlin all influenced me a great deal as I had the pleasure of working for them at various stops in my career. I have no doubt that the lessons that I have learned from all of these great teachers, and from others I have encountered along the way, will serve me well as we begin this journey at Nevada."</p>
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<p>It is clear that Polian has learned from impressive coaches, so hopefully success could rub off for Polian so that he can be a successful head coach in his first try. The main area where Polian is considered very good is his success at being a top recruiter. He has been a recruiting coordinator at Notre Dame, Texas A&M plus Stanford.</p>
<p>The next step for the Nevada program is for Polian to bring in solid offensive and defensive coordinator's preferably one's who have a good number of years under their belt. However, finding those type of coaches this late in the hiring season could prove to be difficult.</p>
<p>Also, there is no word yet on if Polian will continue to utilize the Pistol offense going forward. It would likely be in his best interest to keep elements of that offense since it has been so successful for the Wolf Pack.</p>
https://www.mwcconnection.com/2013/1/7/3848558/nevada-hires-brian-polianJeremy Mauss2013-01-05T21:29:20-08:002013-01-05T21:29:20-08:00Nevada offers Brian Polian head coaching job
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<figcaption>Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>CBS Sports' Bruce Feldman is reporting that Brian Polian will be Nevada's new football head coach.</p> <p>It has been just over a week send <a target="_blank" href="http://www.mwcconnection.com/2012/12/28/3812642/report-nevada-head-coach-chris-ault-to-announce-retirement/in/3576895">Chris Ault stepped aside as the Nevada head coach</a>, and his replacement has reportedly been found. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/bruce-feldman/21503001/brian-polian-expected-to-be-next-nevada-head-coach">Bruce Feldman of CBS Sports is reporting </a>that taking the helm is Brian Polian who most recently was Texas A&M's special teams coordinator and tight ends coach. However, as of Saturday night a deal had not been officially reached.</p>
<p>However, Nevada president Marc Johnson <a target="_blank" href="http://blogs.rgj.com/packblog/2013/01/05/in-brian-polian-the-wolf-pack-would-get-a-high-energy-recruiter/">would not say a coach has been hired</a>:</p>
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<p>"We're not quite there yet," Johnson said. "Nothing has been negotiated or signed. Everything could fall apart and we could have to move on to a No. 2 candidate."</p>
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<p>Polian is also an amazing recruiter as he was the recruiting coordinator at Stanford and Notre Dame, and in 2011 he was named one of the top recruiters of 2011 by Max Prep's Tom Lemming and ESPN.com. He also was a key reason that Manti T'eo chose Notre Dame over BYU and others.</p>
<p>So, the question arises: What makes Polian a good hire to be the Nevada head coach? Polian has never been an offensive or defensive coordinator in his coaching career. His primary duties have been recruiting, special teams, running backs coach, linebackers coach or safeties coach.</p>
<p>Looks like Nevada is going after a high energy recruiter and younger head coach; Polian is just 38-years-old. However, making the jump from special teams coach to head coach is a big jump. The most recent example of this is when University of Houston promoted their special teams coach Tony Levine to replace Kevin Sumlin.</p>
<p>The way this can work is if Polian surrounds himself with a good coordinating staff, and since the hiring is not yet official there is no word about who the coordinators will be.</p>
<p>The other known coaching candidates were Arkansas offensive line coach Chris Klenakis, SMU defensive coordinator Tom Mason and Washington State running backs coach Jim Mastro.</p>
https://www.mwcconnection.com/2013/1/5/3841360/brian-polian-nevada-head-coachJeremy Mauss2012-12-31T16:00:06-08:002012-12-31T16:00:06-08:00Chris Ault could return to the sidelines
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<p>Former Nevada head coach Chris Ault could serve as a consultant in the NFL.</p> <p>When Chris Ault announced he was no longer going to be the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/nevada-wolf-pack" class="sbn-auto-link">Nevada Wolf Pack</a> head coach, he did not use the word retire, but he said he was stepping down. However, he did mention that he did not see him returning to any capacity within the Nevada athletic department.</p>
<p>Ault feels that he has <a target="_blank" href="http://www.rgj.com/article/20121229/SPORTS06/312280063">a lot of football left in him</a>:</p>
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<p>"I'm not using the word retire because that's not in the vocabulary," Ault said. "We'll see. Do I have anything waiting? No. My whole goal is focused on leaving this program in the best way possible."</p>
<p>[...]</p>
<p>"I have a lot left in me," Ault said. "I'm in my offensive prime. I feel good about where I'm at. My energy level is still very high. Whether I coach again, I don't know."</p>
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<p>Ault's first priority is not to get back into coaching, but he wants to help Nevada in any way he can to help the school find a new head coach.</p>
<p>Once Ault is ready to help a football team, he will be in a very high demand. NFL teams are already utilizing part of Ault's Pistol scheme, as are a lot of college football teams. So, if Ault wants to consult or coach, he will have plenty of offers.</p>
<p>Plus, Ault said he is not going to go out and fish every day, but he still wants to keep finding new ways to be innovated on offense.</p>
https://www.mwcconnection.com/2012/12/31/3818692/chris-ault-coaching-nflJeremy Mauss2012-12-31T09:00:18-08:002012-12-31T09:00:18-08:00Chris Ault, a legend retires
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<p>Nevada lost a coaching legend on Friday night as Chris Ault decided to retire.</p> <p>Chris Ault is <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/nevada-wolf-pack">Nevada Wolf Pack</a> football, and there is no denying that. Ault began his coaching career with Nevada all the way back in 1976 when the Wolf Pack was a Division II school. Nevada moved up to the FCS in 1977 and saw immediate succes in the FCS level.</p>
<p>During Nevada's time at the FCS level, Ault took them to seven playoff appearances, which included five trips to the semifinals, one quarterfinal appearance and in 1990 Nevada was the national runner-up.</p>
<p>He guided the team to the FBS level in 1992 and led the team to the Las Vegas Bowl as part of the Big West in their first year, and then again in 1995. Ault retired after that 1995 season, only to become the school's head coach once again from 2005 up until he <a target="_blank" href="http://www.mwcconnection.com/2012/12/28/3812854/nevada-head-coach-chris-ault-retires">retired after the 2012 season</a>.</p>
<p>A few things that Ault accomplished during his career, was first being inducted as a member of the college football Hall of Fame in 2002. While I am not sure of this, I believe Ault was the only active head coach who also was a member of the college football Hall of Fame, and a select few to ever hold that distinction. His record during his 28 seasons in Reno was an impressive 233-109-1, nine conference titles, three of them shared, 10 bowl appearances and as mentioned already seven playoff appearances.</p>
<p>However, his most notable accomplishment is the creation of the Pistol offense. Ault created the offense when he took over the struggling Wolf Pack program in 2005, and it took off with amazing success. Nevada's offense has been one of the nation's best over the last eight seasons, ranking in the top 10 nationally in total yards in each of the last six years.</p>
<p>To read more about the Pistol offense, just this past week Chris Brown of <a target="_blank" href="http://smartfootball.com">Smartfootball.com </a>wrote up a long form piece here at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.sbnation.com/longform/2012/12/27/3792740/pistol-offense-nfl-redskins-rg3">SB Nation discussing the offense at length</a>, so a very timely piece on the offense.</p>
<p>A lot of these so-called 'gimmick' offenses are used by smaller schools to off set a superior opposing team. However, the Pistol has been picked up by most of college football, and even the NFL. A lot of BCS and non-BCS programs have an element of the Pistol, thus proving that the offense is the real deal.</p>
<p>The Pistol offense even helped <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/14842/colin-kaepernick">Colin Kaepernick</a> to be drafted in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft, and Kaepernick is now the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers in just his second year.</p>
<p>Other innovations that Ault help become a norm in college football, as well as the NFL, is the jailbreak screen. The jailbreak screen is a screen thrown in the middle of the field, he developed that all the way back in 1981. Every team in every single level of football uses that play.</p>
<p>Ault also was one of the first to want to see overtime in college football developed. As a member of the Big Sky back in 1980, Ault suggested overtime and have each team get a chance with the ball at the 15-yard line, of course, today's overtime gives the team the ball at the 25.</p>
<p>Ault has built up Nevada to be a fringe top-25 team over the past few years, and even more over the past few years which included a 13-1 season in 2010 where the Wolf Pack was ranked No. 11 and No. 13 in the final polls. Had Nevada not lost to Hawai'i in 2010 the Wolf Pack would have earned a BCS bowl bid.</p>
<p>The only minor blip in Ault's career is that his teams were just 2-8 in bowl games, and that the 2010 season is the only one that netted a ranking in the top 25 to end the season.</p>
<p>Being at Nevada for most of his career did not provide the spotlight that Ault probably deserved, but other coaches know him as one of the most innovative minds that college football has ever seen.</p>
<p>Ault insists that he has done all he can t Nevada, but also mentioned that he feels the program is at a point where his replacement can have the same success, if not more.</p>
https://www.mwcconnection.com/2012/12/31/3815520/chris-ault-retires-nevada-footballJeremy Mauss2012-12-30T13:03:49-08:002012-12-30T13:03:49-08:00Nevada's Nick Rolovich takes Temple OC job
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<p>Nick Rolovich was mentioned as a candidate to replace Chris Ault, but over the weekend he took the same position with Temple.</p> <p>One potential head coaching candidate to replace Chris Ault can be removed off the list. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/nevada-wolf-pack">Nevada Wolf Pack</a> offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich was considered to replace Ault due to his knowledge of the offense, but he has elected to move on with his coaching career and <a href="http://philly.sbnation.com/2012/12/30/3818116/temple-offensive-coordinator-nick-rolovich" target="_blank">is taking the same position with the Temple Owls</a>.</p>
<p>Rolovich spent just one year at Nevada, and he was in charge of one of the most explosive offenses in the country, which was No. 10 this past year. He also spent two years as an offensive coordinator at Hawai'i prior to coming to Nevada.</p>
<p>New Temple head coach Matt Rhule wants his offense to be diverse, and hiring Rolovich makes sense. Rolovich has experience in the pass-happy Hawaii offenses, and also the Pistol which makes him a great fit. Here is what<a href="http://www.csnphilly.com/ncaa/news/Report-Temple-hires-Nick-Rolovich-as-new?blockID=818299&feedID=697" target="_blank"> Rhule said about the hire</a>:</p>
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<p>For his part, Rolovich comes from a Run and Shoot background at Hawaii, while his boss at Nevada, Ault, is the man responsible for the creation of the Pistol offense. Both offenses contain elements of the spread. Specifically, the Run and Shoot is predicated on wide receiver hot routes and pre-snap motion, while the Pistol is a modified shotgun featuring a heavy amount of read-option plays aimed at keeping defenses off-balance.</p>
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<p>Looks like Rolovich is the type of coach that Temple wants to run their offense. It makes sense for Rolovich to take this job since his future with Nevada is uncertain since Ault stepped down last week.</p>
<p>This is the second Nevada coach to head to a BCS program, defensive line coach Barry Sacks joined Cal last week.</p>
https://www.mwcconnection.com/2012/12/30/3818606/nevada-offensive-coordinator-nick-rolovich-templeJeremy Mauss2012-12-30T12:36:35-08:002012-12-30T12:36:35-08:00Nevada begins looking for Chris Ault's replacement
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<p>Nevada is looking for a new head coach to replace Chris Ault who stepped down on Friday.</p> <p>The <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/nevada-wolf-pack" class="sbn-auto-link">Nevada Wolf Pack</a> are looking for a new head coach, and the timing could not be any worse. Current athletic director Cary Groth is set to retire on June30, 2013, so whoever is the new head coach will not know who their boss will be.</p>
<p>Outside of those logistics, the Nevada football program wants to find a coach that can keep the Pistol offense alive. Some early names on Ault's replacement started with Nevada first-year offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich, but Ault felt that there was no one on the current staff who was ready to be a head coach. Plus, Rolovich just <a href="http://www.mwcconnection.com/2012/12/30/3818606/nevada-offensive-coordinator-nick-rolovich-temple" target="_blank">accepted the offensive coordinator job at Temple</a>.</p>
<p>Another name that was mentioned was the man who helped Ault create the Pistol offense and that is Jim Mastro. Mastro is the current running backs coach at Washington State, and when he was asked about taking head coaching job at Nevada he did not want to discuss that.</p>
<p>Keeping the Pistol offense would be the best option since that is what the current players were brought into do, plus quarterback <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/116318/cody-fajardo" class="sbn-auto-link">Cody Fajardo</a> is a great player at running that offense. However, the defense has been terrible over the past few years, and that must be addressed.</p>
<p>The best idea would be to build a staff around the Pistol and then hire a good defensive coordinator to whip this defense into shape.</p>
<p>Here is video from the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.rgj.com/article/20121229/SPORTS06/312290009">Reno Journal-Gazette about what Nevada should do next</a>:</p>
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https://www.mwcconnection.com/2012/12/30/3818504/nevada-coaching-searchJeremy Mauss2012-12-30T11:48:51-08:002012-12-30T11:48:51-08:00Chris Ault took Nevada as far as he could
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<p>Nevada head coach Chris Ault felt that he took the program as high as he could under his leadership.</p> <p>Chris Ault spent 42 years with the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/nevada-wolf-pack">Nevada Wolf Pack</a>, which included a student-athlete, head coach and an administrator role. During those four decades, Ault had helped build up Nevada to be a well respected programs. For Ault to <a href="http://www.mwcconnection.com/2012/12/28/3812854/nevada-head-coach-chris-ault-retires" target="_blank">announce his retirement</a> from the school that had been so much of his life wife had to be very difficult.</p>
<p>Ault actually wanted to retire right after Nevada fell to Arizona in the New Mexico Bowl, but president Marc Johnson convinced Ault to think about it for week. Coming off that emotional loss to Arizona, Johnson felt Ault was making a rash decision.</p>
<p>Ault eventually retired, and he felt the main reason was that he<a href="http://blogs.rgj.com/packblog/2012/12/28/saying-he-cant-take-program-any-further-coach-ault-steps-down-at-nevada/" target="_blank"> took the program as high as it could under his watch</a>. He kept thinking about the handful of double-digit the team had give up over the past few years, and he keep coming back to that loss to Arizona:</p>
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<p>"When I got home after that Arizona game, I was devastated," Ault said. "We should have won the game. We should have won that damn game. Period. And we didn't. And it's the same way we lost all those other games. I went back the past few nights and I thought, ‘If I haven't gotten it straightened out yet, then when am I going to get it straightened out?'</p>
<p>"Here we are one of the best offenses in the country and we couldn't get the defense there. The frustration came down to this: We kept losing games the same way. That can't happen, and I was in charge of everything. As we developed the Pistol offense, I think subconsciously our defensive players and coaches thought, ‘Well, we can just out-score folks. We can beat these teams 49-48."</p>
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<p>The defense has always been an issue, and this year the passing game was an issue, in particularly the deep passing game which cost Nevada a few times this year. </p>
<p>With the Pistol offense, Ault was able to out scheme opposing coaches, but he was getting tired of having to squeeze the absolute most of the program each year. One issue is the Nevada budget which is $5 million, and that is more than $3 million below the Mountain West league average.</p>
<p>While Ault said that he had done the most with what he could do at Nevada, he is leaving the team in excellent shape. The offense is there and even if the Pistol is no longer the main offense, there are playmakers to keep things moving. </p>
<p>Perhaps the next head coach should be defensive minded, and then hire an offensive coordinator that can keep the innovation alive. For the sake of Nevada fans, lets just hope that Nevada does not have a down turn which New Mexico suffered when Rocky Long left, as he to said he did as much as he could for his program.</p>
https://www.mwcconnection.com/2012/12/30/3818284/chris-ault-felt-he-could-not-elevate-nevada-any-higherJeremy Mauss