By Mariana Smith
12/23/2023
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Following his leadership of the NM State football program through two of its most successful seasons in history, Head Coach Jerry Kill has announced his resignation. In response to Kill’s departure, NM State Director of Athletics Mario Moccia has named former Aggie wideout and current wide receivers coach, Tony Sanchez, the 36th head coach of the Aggie program.
On Saturday afternoon, Kill publicly announced his decision to step down as the leader of an Aggie program which he led to back-to-back bowl appearances – becoming the first head coach to do so at NM State in over 60 years. In his two seasons with the Aggies, Kill secured 17 victories, including leading the Crimson and White to its first 10-win season since the 1960 season and its first-ever appearance in a conference championship game. This remarkable run also stands as the second-highest win total across any two-year period in program history, surpassed only by the 1959 and 1960 seasons, which accumulated 19 wins.
“Firstly, I want to extend my sincere thanks to the New Mexico State administration—President Jay Gogue, Mario Moccia, and Braun Cartwright,” stated Jerry Kill “They’ve been invaluable in our achievements over the last two years. I also want to express my deep gratitude to the people of Las Cruces. Aggie Nation has been incredibly supportive, and I will always be thankful for the opportunity I was given to lead their team.
“This year has been tremendously difficult for me, and I gave it everything I had physically, mentally and emotionally. New Mexico State holds a special place in my heart as it marks the end of my journey as a head coach. While I’ll remain involved with the Aggies, I recognize the need for a head coach with a lot of energy. Good luck to Coach Sanchez, the student-athletes and New Mexico State University.”
The 2023 Conference USA Co-Coach of the Year quickly became a household name in Las Cruces and departs as the 10th-winningest coach in the 129-year history of the institution after establishing the most successful start to an Aggie head coaching career to date. With the Aggies, Kill achieved the first bowl victory in his storied 25-year career as a head coach when he led NM State to a win in the Quick Lane Bowl nearly one year ago.
NM State now entrusts someone who is familiar with the program as Sanchez suited up for the Aggies in the mid-90’s before later returning to join Coach Kill’s staff at NM State before the 2022 campaign. For the past two seasons, Sanchez has served as the wide receivers coach and played a pivotal role in helping the Aggies put forth one of the most explosive offenses at the FBS level.
The newly appointed Aggie leader will undertake the role of head coach of an FBS program for the second time in his coaching career after being at the helm of the UNLV program from 2015-19. In Las Vegas, Sanchez amassed 20 wins while also taking part in numerous fundraising efforts which led to the construction of the $34 million Fertitta Football Complex.
Under the tutelage of Sanchez, the Aggie wide receivers compiled over 4,000 receiving yards, including hauling in 31 of the Aggies’ 46 receiving touchdowns during the last two seasons. Following its appearance in the Isleta New Mexico Bowl, the Aggie passing attack ranks 20th in the nation in passing yards per completion (13.64) and is tied for 17th in the country in passing touchdowns (28).
Prior to his stint as an assistant with the Aggies, Sanchez coached alongside Kill at TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, where he was an offensive analyst for the Horned Frogs where he helped them pick up a victory over No. 12 Baylor during the 2021 season.
Before joining the college ranks as the leader of the UNLV program, Sanchez exhibited high-level success at the prep level, including dominant stretches as the figurehead at California High School and Bishop Gorman High School.
Upon exiting the borderland in 2003, Sanchez was installed as the head coach at California High School in Ramon, Calif., and began an 11-year run as one of the nation’s best high school head coaches. From 2004-08, Sanchez stacked 35 wins as California High School’s head man. At CHS, Sanchez helped the Fighting Grizzlies transform from a mediocre program to one that was a power in the East Bay Athletic League, finishing at or above the .500 mark in all but one campaign.
Taking notice of Sanchez’s success in the Golden State, Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nev., came calling and hired Sanchez as its head football coach prior to the start of the 2009 season. What followed over a span of six season was nothing short of complete and total domination by Sanchez and his troops.
Bishop Gorman piled up an 85-5 record during Sanchez’s tenure which ran from 2009-14. Ranked as the top prep football program in the nation by such publications as USA Today and MaxPreps.com, Bishop Gorman never failed to capture the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association (NIAA) 4A state title in each of Sanchez’s six seasons at the helm of the program. In 2014, Sanchez was named the USA Today High School Football Coach of the Year.
Sanchez’s current stint in Las Cruces is the second of his coaching career after spending a total of four seasons on staff at Oñate High School (now Organ Mountain High School). The native of Fairfield, Calif., also spent one season at Irvin High School in El Paso, Texas, coaching its wide receivers in 2000.
Through his two-year tenure in an NM State uniform, Sanchez racked up 54 receptions for 741 yards and five touchdowns. Upon the conclusion of his collegiate career in the 1995 season, Sanchez served as an undergraduate assistant coach for the Aggies for their 1996 campaign.
A 1998 graduate of NM State, Sanchez possesses a bachelor’s degree in family and consumer science. Five years later (2003), he secured a master’s degree in special education. He is the father of a daughter, Alyssa, and a son, Jason.
Sanchez will be formally introduced to the Las Cruces and NM State communities during his introductory press conference in the coming weeks. That press conference will take place on the third floor of the Fulton Athletic Center and will be open to the public.
New Mexico State University and its athletics department would also like to express its deepest gratitude to all contributors who assisted in fundraising efforts aimed at retaining Jerry Kill for a third season.
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COURTESY NEW MEXICO STATE ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS
