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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher/Writer
If the Vegas Golden Knights felt compelled to ax former coach Pete DeBoer after their last season, I suppose the firing of UNLV football coach Marcus Arroyo can’t be too shocking after three seasons and Arroyo winning only seven of 30 games.
Arroyo did go out with a win Saturday at Allegiant Stadium where the Rebels came back from a 13-0 deficit to defeat in-state rival Nevada at Reno, 27-22. The UNLV announcement came before the Fremont Cannon — the spoils of winning the UNLV-Nevada game — was supposed to be painted red Monday.
ADD: Arroyo posted this statement on social media Tuesday morning:
The win over the Wolf Pack was not enough for Arroyo to keep his job. He was hired by former UNLV Athletic Director Desiree Reed-Francois in December 2019 after former Reb coach Tony Sanchez was let go.
UNLV Athletic Director Erick Harper said he looked at the body of Arroyo’s work over three years and that it was time for a change.
The UNLV football program had high expectations because of the money invested in renting Allegiant Stadium for its games and being based in an impressive headquarters facility. While UNLV football is not a top brand in college football, it could be an attractive job for a football coach in light of the impressive game and practice facilities and the improved status of Las Vegas as a major sports market in the U.S.
UNLV football It’s a downtrodden sports program that has made only one bowl game since 2000 (Heart of Dall Bowl in 2014).
Arroyo was the former Oregon offensive coordinator and played quarterback for San Jose State as a student from 1998-2002. He was fired after his third year of a fire-year deal.
Arroyo has followed the nomadic path of many young football coaches in their 20s and 30s. Arroyo was on the San Jose State staff from 2005-08 and was the offensive coordinator job at Wyoming. He then worked at California, Southern Mississippi, the NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers as interim offensive coordinator, Oklahoma State and Oregon (2017-19).
Arroyo did not win a game in the pandemic season of 2020, going 0-6. Then, he went 2-10 in 2021, though the team played many competitive one-score games.
In 2022, the Rebels played well early, winning four of their first five games before losing six straight games, including a contest against a weak Hawaii team 10 days ago.
There has been local chatter about UNLV, with its 5-7 record, possibly qualifying for an open slot for a bowl game.
Only two days ago, he was posing for photos with UNLV seniors before their final game at Allegiant Stadium. How, there will be an awkward cannon painting event today and Arroyo packing his office.