A decade before UNLV coach Tony Sanchez became the fifth man in college football’s modern era to make the head coaching jump directly from high school to a Football Bowl Subdivision school, Kris Cinkovich enjoyed a similar rise in Las Vegas.
After coaching Las Vegas High School for nine seasons, during which the Wildcats went 79-24 and won the school’s first state title since 1959, Cinkovich joined UNLV as wide receivers coach from 2004 to 2009.
Now in his fourth year as Idaho’s offensive coordinator under Paul Petrino — Louisville coach Bobby Petrino’s younger brother — Cinkovich will return to Las Vegas on Saturday, when the Vandals take on UNLV in a matchup of 1-2 teams at Sam Boyd Stadium.