UNLV announces 8 members of football coaching staff

UNLV first-year coach Marcus Arroyo rolled out most of his staff Thursday, a group of assistants with deep regional ties.

No announcement, however, was made on the Rebels’ offensive and defensive coordinators. There was no indication on when Arroyo would complete his staff, and he is not expected to comment until the process is finished.

One hire not announced was that of Mike McHugh, expected to be the director of football operations. McHugh began working at UNLV around Christmas and planned to officially begin Jan. 1, but never signed a contract. He is returning to Fresno State as the assistant athletic director for football operations and chief of the football staff.

Here is Arroyo’s staff to this point:

— Pass game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Danny Langsdorf served in both capacities at Fresno State last season. He also has extensive pro and college experience that includes three years as the offensive coordinator at Nebraska (2015-17) and nine at Oregon State (2005-13). Langsdorf also was the New York Giants quarterbacks coach in 2014 and the offensive quality control coach for the New Orleans Saints from 2002-04.

— Run game coordinator and offensive line coach Cameron Norcross was Vanderbilt’s offensive line coach the past four seasons. He also knows the Mountain West from his time overseeing the front at Fresno State (2012-15) and UNR (2010-11). He shared the line responsibilities with the Wolf Pack from 2003-09. Norcross was All-Big West Conference at UNR in 1998.

— Running backs coach Scott Baumgartner spent the past seven seasons at conference rival New Mexico, serving as wide receivers coach for five years and overseeing running backs for two. Baumgartner coached UNR’s quarterbacks in 2004 and wide receivers from 2005-12.

— Tight ends coach and special teams coordinator Jordan Paopao was the tight ends coach at Washington the past seven seasons.

— Linebackers coach Kenwick Thompson was at Fresno State the past two seasons, serving as run game coordinator in 2019 and linebackers coach the year before that. He also was San Jose State’s defensive coordinator in 2013 and worked at Pac-12 and Southeastern Conference schools.

— Safeties coach Damon Magazu was a graduate assistant at Oklahoma the past two seasons, assisting with the secondary.

— Cornerbacks coach Tre Watson was a defensive grad assistant at Oregon the past two years.

— Strength and conditioning coach Matt Fyle was the associate director of football strength and conditioning at Maryland this past season. He was at Oregon in 2018.

Although no longer part of UNLV’s staff, McHugh spoke glowingly of Arroyo and called him “a great up-and-coming coach.”

“He’s got a great staff,” McHugh said. “I loved working with the guy. The energy level is fantastic. I just didn’t fit into the overall athletic department.”

McHugh wouldn’t discuss the specifics of what led to his decision to return to Fresno State.

“This has nothing to do with Marcus,” he said. “He will do great things. I guess I was a better fit at Fresno State.”

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.