Update> Late last night Adam Rittenberg heard Aranda has chosen to pull out of this search.
Original post>
When Tony Sanchez was let go at UNLV, sources told FootballScoop that Rebels AD Desiree Reed-Francois was on the hunt for "the next Lincoln Riley and the next Ryan Day". For a while, it appeared she had her man in Oregon offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo.
However, a deal between UNLV and Arroyo has not been done, and sources tell FootballScoop that LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda has emerged as a strong candidate.
Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated and Adam Rittenberg of ESPN have also reported the same.
From the outside, this would appear a puzzling career move for Aranda. He is the highest-paid assistant in college football, in Year 2 of a 4-year contract that pays him $2.5 million per year. And with LSU in the midst of a 13-0 season, it's not as if the Tigers will be tight with the purse strings as they work to keep a good thing going. Sanchez made $600,000, by comparison.
Furthermore, UNLV has been a historically difficult place to win. The last coach to leave Las Vegas with a winning record did so in 1985.
However, Aranda has already banked more money than he ever could have dreamed upon entering coaching as a JV coach at Redlands High School in 1995, and head coaching opportunities only come along so often. Aranda spent 2012 as the defensive coordinator at Utah State, where he gained a ground-floor look at what success looks like at a historically downtrodden program.
In fact, sources close to Aranda say the fact that UNLV has had such trouble winning is in part what intrigues him about the job. Those who know him say he is a coach who likes having mountains to climb. Having John Robinson, yes the same John Robinson in the graphic above, on LSU's staff has to have been a good sounding board for Aranda during this process.
Sources say Aranda is also encouraged by the commitments to UNLV has pledged to the program in terms of money for assistant coaches and support staff. The program will move into the Las Vegas Raiders' (that's going to take some getting used to) new stadium next fall and also recently opened a new facility.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N04jUenyztE
Having said all that, a deal is not done, and Aranda is mulling over the opportunity. He is not being encouraged to leave LSU by any stretch.
This is a developing situation, so stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.