After a bizarre 24 hours of rumors and false sources from national news media, including the Associated Press, UNLV will be hiring Oregon offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo as the 12th head coach in Rebels history.
The university officially announced the move Wednesday morning via social media while the Las Vegas Review-Journal's Mark Anderson first reported the confirmation hours earlier. While some outlets reported falsely that LSU defensive coordinator was on the verge of signing and even had an offer in-hand, Anderson — as well as Sin City SM — never wavered on Arroyo as the choice.
"Marcus has demonstrated a commitment to integrity and excellence throughout his career, and we look forward to a bright future for our football program under his leadership," UNLV President Marta Meana said. "We're excited to welcome Marcus and his family to Las Vegas and UNLV."
"UNLV Athletics is a department on the rise, and my family and I are thrilled to be a part of the Rebel family during this special time," said Arroyo, "The uniqueness of Las Vegas is unrivaled and the opportunity to train, practice, and compete, in some of the country's best facilities in one of the world's most vibrant cities cannot be understated. We will work tirelessly to elevate UNLV Football to the championship caliber program that it is positioned to be. I can't wait to get started, and I look forward to meeting our student-athletes, support staff, and fans."
The 39-year old is finishing his third season with No. 7 Oregon as its assistant head coach and quarterback coach and is coming off a dominating performance against Utah Friday to win the Pac-12 championship. The Ducks are slated to compete in the Rose Bowl against No. 11 Wisconsin on New Year's Day.
"It's remarkable to see things come full circle 20 years later," UNLV athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois said, "We set out to find a teacher and a competitor with the character, competence, energy and intellect to bring out the best in our 105 young men and recruit and develop the next group of Rebel football student-athletes. We looked for a leader that is a great evaluator of talent, who can sell what makes UNLV, our community, and our program unique, and helps develop and prepare our student-athletes for the next level.
"When Marcus and I reconnected during the search process, his alignment with these attributes became evident. I am confident he is the right coach to lead UNLV football's ascent, and we are thrilled to welcome him along with Kelly and Cruz to the Rebel family."
His former head coach also had nice things to say about his former coordinator.
“He’s smart. Very smart,” Oregon head coach Willie Taggart said about Arroyo. “Very articulate. He does a great job with the players. He’s very energetic. That’s everyday...Got that juice everyday. He’s a team player. All about the team.”
It is unclear if Arroyo will finish the season with Oregon, if this hire is consummated prior to the Rose Bowl. UNLV has a press conference scheduled for Wednesday morning at 11 a.m.
Arroyo, 39, is in his third season at Oregon and also is the assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach. He is well known as an above average recruiter and someone who connects with his player. His recruiting chops were on display last week when the seventh-ranked Ducks won the Pac-12 Conference championship with a 37-15 rout of Utah on Friday, and they will play No. 11 Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. The Ducks average 35.9 points a game this season, and quarterback Justin Herbert has completed 66.7 percent of his passes for 3,333 yards with 32 touchdowns and just five interceptions.
A former Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistant, Arroyo has deep ties to the Mountain West after playing quarterback at San Jose State from 1998 to 2002 before becoming the quarterbacks coach for the Spartans from 2006 to 2008. He was also Wyoming’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for a pair of seasons.
After five years of Sanchez, his team's lack of defense and just 20 wins in five seasons), Marcus Arroyo brings a Pac-12 pedigree as well as NFL ties as the team moves into its $2 billion home the Rebels will be sharing with the Las Vegas Raiders. Arroyo will also be selling recruits on the program's brand new $35 million practice facility.
With the early signing period beginning Dec. 18-20, Marcus Arroyo comes on board just in time to sway some of his verbal commits to change course and join him at UNLV. Currently, UNLV has 10 players committed for what 247Sports ranks as the Mountain West’s No. 3 class but the Rebels already have potentially lost Jeminai Leuta-Ulu, a guard from Anaheim, California, who reopened his recruiting after UNLV fired coach Tony Sanchez, according to the Anderson at the Review-Journal.
When he takes the helm, Arroyo will be joining a program that boasts just three winning seasons over the last 27 years and just four bowl games in the program's 52 seasons.
Needless to say, it'll be the biggest test of Arroyo's career. No word on what kind of staff Marcus Arroyo would bring, but one can imagine he has a few names in mind.
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