Utah football coach Urban Meyer came up with what seems to be quite a coup this week, luring an offensive coordinator from Stanford to be his new right-hand man on the scoring side.
Meyer has hired Mike Sanford to be Utah's offensive coordinator and running-backs coach. Sanford, with 26 years of experience, leaves a similar post at Stanford, where he coached quarterbacks instead of running backs but was offensive coordinator.
Meyer called it "a big get."
And that would seem to be the case. Sanford has spent three years with the NFL's San Diego Chargers (1999-2001) as receivers coach and also coached at Notre Dame and University of Southern California, among others.
Meyer said he was able to get Sanford from Stanford because, "We worked together at Notre Dame (1997-98). He knows what I want to run on offense, and he has great respect for the University of Utah and great respect for what we're going to try to get accomplished here. I think it's a 'big get' because of his connections in California.
"He's a quality person, too—a quality family man, and that's important to me, too," said Meyer.
Meyer was receivers coach and Sanford quarterbacks coach at Notre Dame, so they worked closely together. "So I know first-hand what a quality person and coach he is," Meyer said.
"Mike is highly respected, especially out west. He has a reputation as a great recruiter and developer of players. He is a veteran coach who has been exposed to a variety of styles of offense, and he will bring a wealth of experience to our staff."
Sanford also has coached at Purdue, Long Beach State, Virginia Military Institute and Army. As an assistant, he has participated in eight bowl games, six of them at USC, including the 1993 Freedom Bowl in which the Trojans downed Utah 28-21.
While at USC, three of his receivers were selected in the first round of the NLF Draft - Curtis Conway in 1992, Johnnie Morton in 1993 and Keyshawn Johnson, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1996 draft. As a quarterback coach, he helped produce Ron Powlus and Jarius Jackson at Notre Dame.
As an offensive coordinator at Long Beach State, his passing attack was fifth nationally in 1985 and seventh in 1986, when receiver Mark Templeton led the country in catches with an NCAA-record number.
The Los Altos, Calif., native attended USC and played quarterback and safety from 1973-76. He was backup QB for the Trojans' 1973 and 1974 Rose Bowl teams and played free safety in 1976 when USC beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl and finished with a No. 2 ranking. SC was national champion in 1974. He graduated from USC in 1978 with a bachelor's degree in physical education.
Sanford and wife Melinda have two children, Lindsay and Michael. Michael is a sophomore reserve quarterback at Boise State.
Sanford's first coaching assignment was as a graduate assistant under John Robinson, who is now the UNLV coach and athletic director.
E-mail: lham@desnews.com