Longtime Rebels aides on job market

Football coaches are itinerant, moving from job to job, with few becoming attached to one city for the long term.

But two UNLV assistants have deep local ties -- cornerbacks coach Mike Bradeson and wide receivers coach Kris Cinkovich.

Now they face uncertain futures with Mike Sanford coaching his final Rebels game at 6 p.m. Saturday against San Diego State at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Bradeson, 50, has been at the school since 1996, including a stint as defensive coordinator from 2000 to 2004.

"I don't have a game plan," Bradeson said. "I'm just trying to find a job. It's wherever I can find work."

Cinkovich, 49, has been with the Rebels since 2004, but his local roots go back to 1991 when he was a UNLV graduate assistant. In between, he was offensive coordinator at Green Valley High School from 1992 to 1994 and head coach at Las Vegas High from 1995 to 2003, winning the 2001 state championship.

Cinkovich said he doesn't know where he will work next year but he'll stay in coaching and could consider returning to high school football.

"If that's the best thing for my family and me, yeah, I'd have no problem with that," Cinkovich said. "Coaching's coaching. It just needs to be fun. That's the thing I'm going to look at."

• TIME FOR REVENGE? -- UNLV visited San Diego State last season with great hopes of becoming bowl eligible. The Rebels were favored by 10 points but lost 42-21 to finish 5-7 and miss the postseason for the eighth consecutive year.

No bowl is on the line this weekend, but memories of last year are fresh.

"It's frustrating, but we're not in the same situation as last year," guard Joe Hawley said. "We're just playing for just this one game, but, yeah, it's been brought up. We really want to beat them just to pay them back."

Both teams are 4-7 overall and 2-5 in the Mountain West Conference.

• EARLY PROGRESS -- First-year coach Brady Hoke has doubled San Diego State's win total from last season.

But the Aztecs should be playing for a bowl berth. They led 27-6 in the fourth quarter two weeks ago at home but lost 30-27 to Wyoming.

Then on Saturday they were smoked 38-0 in the first half against Utah before settling down in the second half to outscore the Utes 7-0.

Hoke said the second half was encouraging, "but at the same time you look at it and ask yourself and talk to the players, 'Why didn't we start the game like that?' "

• FINAL EVENT -- Sanford will preside over his final UNLV function when the Rebels hold their awards banquet at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at South Point.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@ reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Read the latest UNLV football updates at lvrj.com/blogs/unlv_sports.