Randy Sanders

Randy Sanders (born September 22, 1965) is an American football coach who is currently the head coach at East Tennessee State University.

Randy Sanders
Sanders visits the Kentucky Army National Guard in 2010.
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamEast Tennessee State
ConferenceSoCon
Record11–13
Biographical details
Born (1965-09-22) September 22, 1965
Morristown, Tennessee
Playing career
1984–1988Tennessee
Position(s)Quarterback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1989–1990Tennessee (QB)
1991–1992Tennessee (WR)
1993–1998Tennessee (RB/RC)
1998–2005Tennessee (OC/QB)
2006–2008Kentucky (QB)
2009–2012Kentucky (OC/QB)
2013–2017Florida State (co-OC/QB)
2018–presentEast Tennessee State
Head coaching record
Overall11–13
Tournaments0–1 (FCS Playoffs)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
SoCon (2018)

He is the only person to have been a part of both the first and last Bowl Championship Series (BCS) National Champions, having been quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator for the University of Tennessee in the first (1998) and quarterbacks coach for Florida State University in the last (2013).

As quarterbacks coach at University of Kentucky, Sanders' guidance helped André Woodson develop from an inconsistent performer into one of the top quarterbacks in the nation.[1][2] In 2013 at Florida State, Sanders led Jameis Winston to become the youngest player to win a Heisman Trophy and led the Seminoles to a 14–0 record and a national championship.

Playing career

A native of Morristown, Tennessee, Sanders played quarterback for Morristown East High School, where he compiled career totals of 290 completions on 573 attempts for 4,225 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 28 interceptions. During his senior year, he threw for 1,359 yards and 12 touchdowns, and was considered one of the top 100 recruits in the nation.[3] Sanders was a quarterback on the Tennessee Volunteers football team from 1984 through 1988. Primarily a backup quarterback, he earned four varsity letters and was a four-year member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll. He was also the holder on special teams. After graduation, Sanders remained with Tennessee as a volunteer assistant coach, helping coach the quarterbacks in 1989 and 1990 under head coach Johnny Majors.[4]

Coaching career

Tennessee

In all, Sanders spent 22 seasons (1984–2005) as a player and coach at the University of Tennessee. He coached wide receivers under Majors in 1991 and 1992, then became running backs coach and recruiting coordinator from 1993 to 1998 under head coach Phillip Fulmer.[4]

Following the Volunteers' undefeated regular season and Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship in 1998, offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe resigned to become the head coach at Ole Miss. Sanders took Cutcliffe's place as offensive coordinator for the 1999 Fiesta Bowl, in which Tennessee defeated Florida State in the inaugural BCS National Championship Game; it was Sanders's first-ever game as primary play-caller.[5][6]

Sanders continued as offensive coordinator, as well as quarterbacks coach, for the following seven seasons. He resigned as offensive coordinator midway through the 2005 season, though he remained as quarterbacks coach for the remainder of the campaign.[7]

Kentucky

Sanders left Tennessee following the 2005 season and became quarterbacks coach for head coach Rich Brooks at Kentucky in 2006.[8] Kentucky had a winning record in each of his first three seasons, and the Wildcats won three straight bowl games for the first time in school history.[9] Following the 2008 season, Sanders received the title of offensive coordinator, replacing Joker Phillips, whose title changed to "head coach of the offense," though Phillips continued to be responsible for offensive play-calling.[9] Sanders retained his other roles of quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator.[9]

After the 2009 season, Brooks retired and Phillips became head coach, keeping Sanders as offensive coordinator.[8][10] Among the offensive position coaches joining him on Phillips's first staff was Sanders's former quarterback at Tennessee, Tee Martin, who coached wide receivers.[10]

Sanders remained at Kentucky through the 2012 season, when Phillips was fired.[8]

Florida State

In 2013, Sanders joined Florida State as quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator under head coach Jimbo Fisher. The teams that Sanders coached at Florida State from 2013 to 2017 totaled 53 wins, two ACC titles, and won the 2013 national championship. He also coached Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jameis Winston, who went on to be the first pick in 2015 NFL Draft and selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[11]

East Tennessee State

On December 17, 2017, following the retirement of Carl Torbush earlier in the month, the East Tennessee State Buccaneers named Sanders as their eighteenth head coach.[11]

Pre-season polls of Southern Conference media and head football coaches picked the 2018 Buccaneers to finish second-to-last, eighth in the nine team league, in Sanders's first year as head coach.[12][13] The team ended up finishing the regular season 8-3, earning a share of the Southern Conference championship and an at-large bid to the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS playoffs, the second playoff appearance in program history.[6][14] The team lost its first-round game, against Jacksonville State.[6] Sanders was named Southern Conference Coach of the Year and was one of 15 finalists for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award.[14] Sanders also received a contract extension through 2023.[6]

Head coaching record
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs
East Tennessee State Buccaneers (Southern Conference) (2018–present)
2018 East Tennessee State 8–46–2T–1stL FCS Playoffs First Round
2019 East Tennessee State 3–91–79th
East Tennessee State: 11–137–9
Total:11–13
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

References
  1. "Randy Sanders profile". University of Kentucky. Retrieved February 12, 2010.
  2. "Randy Sanders". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 12, 2010.
  3. 1985 University of Tennessee Football Guide, University of Tennessee, 1985, p. 72.
  4. "Randy Sanders, Head Coach - Football | Roster | Official Site of East Tennessee State Athletics". ETSUBucs.com. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  5. Toppmeyer, Blake. "How the 1998 UT Vols beat Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl to cap the program's most storied season". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  6. Toppmeyer, Blake. "Randy Sanders earns a new contract with ETSU Bucs football". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  7. "Sanders resigns as Vols' offensive coordinator". ESPN.com. October 31, 2005. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  8. Rippetoe, Hank (June 24, 2013). "Kentucky Football: Why Joker Phillips Had To Go". A Sea Of Blue. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  9. WKYT. "Joker Phillips, Randy Sanders Get New Titles". www.wkyt.com. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  10. Herndon, Mike (May 21, 2010). "Mobile native Tee Martin enjoys working for Kentucky's Joker Phillips". al. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  11. O'Neill, Kane (December 17, 2017). "Randy Sanders named ETSU's 18th head football coach". WJHL-TV. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  12. "Media picks Samford to win 2018 SoCon football title".
  13. "Football coaches select preseason all-conference teams, poll".
  14. "Bucs' Sanders SoCon coach of the year". Kingsport Times-News. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
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