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Nevada hires Arizona State assistant Jay Norvell as head coach
Two weeks after parting ways with Brian Polian, Nevada has officially hired its new head coach.
The school confirmed Friday that it has hired Arizona State assistant Jay Norvell to lead the football program. Norvell most recently served as the Sun Devils’ wide receivers’ coach and passing game coordinator.
“I am thrilled to hire Jay Norvell to serve as our head football coach,” athletic director Doug Knuth said. “Coach Norvell is known throughout college and NFL football as a man of great character and integrity. He is highly respected for his knowledge of the game and ability to teach his players. He has incredible relationships and an army of friends in high school, college and professional football. Lastly, and importantly, Coach Norvell is known for his passion and love for his players. He will set a very high standard for excellence and work tirelessly to achieve our goals academically and athletically. I am excited to watch Coach Norvell build Wolf Pack football into a championship program.”
This is the first head-coaching gig for the 53-year-old Norvell, who has also been an offensive coordinator at Nebraska, UCLA and Oklahoma. He was also an offensive assistant at Texas in 2015.
“I want to thank University president Marc Johnson and Doug Knuth for this tremendous opportunity,” Norvell said. “Our family is humbled and honored to lead the Nevada football program. It is our charge to make this the flagship program of the Mountain West Conference.”
After finishing up his playing career as an all-conference defensive back at Iowa, Norvell also had stints as an assistant with the NFL’s Oakland Raiders and Indianapolis Colts and at Iowa State, Wisconsin, Northern Iowa, and Iowa.
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Norvell will replace Polian, who mutually parted ways with the school on Nov. 27 after four years as head coach. Polian had a 23-27 record with the Wolf Pack and twice reached a bowl game. The team went 4-8 in his first season before going 7-6 in back-to-back years in 2014 and 2015. This season, the Wolf Pack finished 5-7.
According to ESPN.com, Eastern Washington coach Beau Baldwin and Vanderbilt offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig were the other finalists for the opening.
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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
