UNLV football coaches find success (once they leave)

“WELL FAMILY AND FRIENDS, WE PLAY THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS TOMORROW AFTERNOON AND I KNOW IT WILL BE A DOGFIGHT. I’VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO COACH AGAINST THE STEELERS ON MANY OCCASIONS THROUGH THE YEARS AND THEY ALWAYS COME WITH IT. OUR PLAYERS ARE READY TO BATTLE SO CHECK US OUT AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS.”

Nunnely uses capital letters when he posts, but that’s to be expected, because that’s the way football coaches speak. When two of his Denver Broncos defensive linemen encroached twice in three plays during the second quarter Sunday, Nunnely bounded onto the field to get their attention.

He appeared to be speaking in capital letters again.

This is Nunnely’s third season as the Broncos’ defensive line coach. Before that, he was the San Diego Chargers’ defensive line coach for 12 seasons and the New Orleans Saints’ D-line coach for two seasons. 

In four years (1986 to 1989) at UNLV, Nunnely was 19-25, making him the second-winningest Rebels coach over the past quarter-century.

As I have written, when UNLV fired Wayne Nunnely, it did him a favor.

Earlier Saturday, Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth referred to Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Scott Linehan as one of the bright, young minds of the game, or something to that effect. Before Linehan became one of the bright, young minds of the game, he was coach of the St. Louis Rams, which tends to slap the bright and young right out of you. Before that, he was offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins and the Minnesota Vikings.

Before that, in 1991, Linehan was quarterbacks coach at UNLV.

Every time one switches channels during the postseason, one comes across a high-profile football coach who served an apprenticeship at UNLV.

Chuck Pagano, the defensive coordinator for the defensive-minded Baltimore Ravens, is being mentioned as a likely NFL head coach. On Monday night, there was Ron Cooper, the defensive backs coach under Les Miles at Louisiana State, which lost to Alabama in the BCS championship game.

With the exception of Nunnely, all served as assistants under Jim Strong, UNLV’s coach from 1990 to 1993.

Tom Cable also was on Strong’s staff in 1991. Cable went on to become head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 2008 to 2010. Now he’s the Seattle Seahawks assistant head coach under Pete Carroll.

Strong’s record at UNLV was 17-27, prompting a switch to the real estate business, where I hear he is quite successful. That doesn’t diminish the fact he once assembled a hell of a coaching staff.

Sadly, it also was a star-crossed staff.

Pete Peltzer, the Rebels’ offensive line coach under Strong, suffered a massive heart attack while jogging. The former U.S. Marine spent 2½ years in a coma before dying in 1993. I’ll never forget visiting Peltzer at Desert Springs Hospital. I was the only one there. His room was dark, and the only sound was that of the machines keeping him alive.

Rock Roggeman was the Rebels’ defensive line coach from 1990 to 1992. The effusive Roggeman had played at Notre Dame. He had fiery red hair and a fiery red personality. Roggeman was East Carolina’s assistant head coach in 2010 when he died after a yearlong battle with cancer at age 47.

In addition to Linehan, Cable and Cooper, other former UNLV assistants have gone on to become head coaches during the Rebels’ long run of futility.

Jeff Horton, who also served under Strong, was coach at both UNR and UNLV, and a top assistant at Wisconsin and Minnesota of the Big Ten, guiding the Gophers to a victory over Iowa to win the Floyd of Rosedale Trophy while Minnesota’s interim head coach. Horton is now assistant head coach under Rocky Long at San Diego State.

Ken Niumatalolo, who coached the Rebels’ tight ends under John Robinson, is the coach at Navy, where he has helped the Midshipmen win the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy seven times; Ruffin McNeill, who worked under Horton in 1997 and 1998, now leads East Carolina.

If there’s a point to be made here, it’s either that coaching in the NFL is a lot easier than it would appear, or that a lack of quality coaches isn’t UNLV’s problem as much as a lack of quality players.

Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Ron Kantowski can be reached at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow him on Twitter: @ronkantowski.