Columnist Dean Juipe: Kazor finds UNLV job appealing

Dean Juipe

Wednesday, Nov. 18, 1998 | 10:45 a.m.

Suitors are stepping forward.

Ron Meyer came out last week, even before Jeff Horton was told he would be fired, and publicly said he wanted the UNLV football coaching job.

There will be others.

Charlie Stubbs, a former assistant under Horton and now an assistant at Alabama, apparently has some interest and may actually be the leading contender because of an old Memphis connection with UNLV A.D. Charlie Cavagnaro.

But another man, perhaps less celebrated yet no less qualified, has his eyes on the prize as well. He's a Rancho High School graduate with 15 years experience as an assistant in the National Football League, serving under head coaches like Tom Landry and Mike Ditka.

Steve Kazor has his application in the mail.

"Maybe people think of me as a long shot, but Ditka was once a long shot to get the (Chicago) Bears' job, and Jimmy Johnson was once a long shot to get the (Dallas) Cowboys' job," Kazor said. "You have to look at a person's attributes, and I'm good enough to get the job done at UNLV."

Kazor, 48, spent this season as head coach at McPherson (Kansas) College, an NAIA-II school that doesn't offer football scholarships. Nonetheless, his team went 5-5 for its first non-losing season since 1957.

"Everywhere I've been I've been able to help turn things around," he said by phone from his McPherson office. "I feel I've contributed to some championship efforts."

Kazor's resume also includes coaching stops at the University of Texas, UTEP, Texas-Arlington and Iowa Wesleyan. He worked for Landry, Ditka and Wayne Fontes during his NFL tenure.

His parents still live here, he wants the UNLV job and he has even contacted an old acquaintance, Gov. Bob Miller, about it.

"I enjoy a college situation (more than the NFL) and I'd like the challenge of a larger school," Kazor said. "Las Vegas is my hometown and UNLV presents a great situation. They've had success there before and people are crazy about sports in the city.

"I don't see anything but positives when I look at UNLV."

He doesn't buy into the notion the Rebels are doomed or hopelessly buried by circumstances beyond their control.

"They need a coach with a plan, an offensive scheme," he said. "I've got that."

Kazor has taken to what he calls a variation of the West Coast offense, with play-action passing blended with a running attack. His McPherson quarterback utilized the system to average 465 passing yards per game and finished No. 3 in the NAIA-II quarterback ratings. The team was No. 4 in the country in total offense.

"Recruiting skilled people, players with weapons, is no problem with an offense like this," Kazor said. "With that offense and all the things UNLV can offer, plus the fact I've got 20 or 30 friends coaching high schools in California, I think my network's set."

Networking was on his mind Tuesday after hearing Horton was definitely out as the Rebels' coach.

"I've got some heavy hitters in my corner," Kazor said, referring not only to Miller but another friend, Nevada Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa. "I think I'm going to call Miller again right now."