Marvin Sanders became a member of Frank Solich's Husker coaching staff after two seasons as the secondary coach at Colorado State. Sanders will tutor the defensive backs at his alma mater, the same position he played at Nebraska in the late 1980s.
Sanders will be one of three new assistants on the Husker defensive staff, headed by coordinator Bo Pelini. After being named Nebraska's new defensive coordinator in early December, Pelini was involved in Solich?s selection of Sanders as the Husker defensive backs coach. Sanders will also coordinate the annual Husker coaches clinic.
The 35-year-old Sanders has 11 seasons of experience as a collegiate assistant, including the 2001 and 2002 campaigns on Sonny Lubick's CSU staff. Colorado State posted a 17-9 record during Sanders? two seasons in Fort Collins. The Rams posted a 10-4 record and won the Mountain West Conference championship in 2002.
Sanders coached Rams defensive back Jason Gallimore to first-team all-conference honors in 2001, while return specialist Dexter Wynn was a first-team All-Mountain West pick in both 2001 and 2002. Wynn and fellow defensive back Rhett Nelson both earned second-team all-league honors last fall under Sanders? guidance.
Before his two seasons at Colorado State, Sanders spent one season on Tony Samuel?s coaching staff at New Mexico State. Sanders coached defensive ends and outside linebackers at NMSU and worked on the same staff with new Husker offensive coordinator Barney Cotton. Sanders was hired at New Mexico State to replace Jeff Jamrog, who left the Aggie program to join Solich?s Nebraska staff in the spring of 2000.
Sanders spent five seasons on Coach Pat Behrns' staff at Nebraska-Omaha from 1995 to 1999. He was the Mavericks' secondary coach for all five seasons and was the team's defensive coordinator for his final three years in Omaha. Ironically, he also succeeded Jamrog as the Mavs' defensive coordinator after Jamrog left UNO to join Samuel?s first New Mexico State staff.
UNO won two North Central Conference titles and appeared in the NCAA Division II playoffs twice during Sanders' tenure with the Mavericks. The UNO defense finished eighth nationally in rushing defense in 1998 and set the school single-season sack record in 1999.
A native of Markham, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, Sanders was the secondary coach at Minnesota-Morris in 1994. He also served as the sports information director at Minnesota-Morris. Sanders coached at Nebraska Wesleyan in 1992 and 1993.
Sanders earned three letters at Nebraska from 1987 to 1989. He started the first seven games of his senior season at free safety, before suffering a shoulder injury. Sanders finished the 1989 campaign with 26 tackles and two interceptions in nine games and earned honorable-mention All-Big Eight honors for a 10-2 Husker squad, that played in the Fiesta Bowl.
Sanders received his bachelor?s degree in business administration from Nebraska in 1990. Sanders is married to the former Susan M. Hyland of Omaha, Neb. Together they have a daughter, Chandler Marie, 11 and a son, Payton, 7.
Courtesy: Scott Bruhn/NU Media Relations
