Dec. 29, 1999

LAS VEGAS - Secondary coach Mike Bradeson has been named UNLV's defensive coordinator, Rebel head coach John Robinson announced Wednesday.

Bradeson, 40, replaces Jeff McInerney, who has accepted a similar position at the University of Tulsa after only one year at UNLV.

"Jeff McInerney did an outstanding job for us, but he wanted to join his longtime friend Keith Burns at Tulsa," Robinson said.

Burns was named to lead the Golden Hurricane program on Dec. 7. McInerney and Burns were assistant coaches together at Rice in 1992 and then at Southern California under Robinson in 1996-97.

Bradeson, who joined the Rebels in 1996, was the only member of the previous staff to be retained by Robinson last year. Bradeson, who spent his first season in Las Vegas overseeing the team's linebackers, also spent three years as the Rebels' recruiting coordinator.

A 1981 graduate of Boise State, Bradeson came to UNLV after a four-year stint coaching defensive backs at the University of California. He also had coaching stops at Nevada, Reno (1986-91) and his alma mater (1981-85).

"Mike Bradeson is as ready to move into a role such as this as any young coach I have ever been around," Robinson said. "What he did with our secondary this season was as good a coaching job as any I have seen in my career. I am confident he will do just as well as coordinator."

In 1999, the Rebels led the Mountain West Conference by allowing only 171 passing yards per game and ranked 23rd in the nation in pass efficiency defense. Also this fall, sophomore cornerback Kevin Thomas shattered the school record for pass breakups with 24.

Bradeson will continue to coach the secondary in his new position and Robinson said he is now in the process of searching for a new defensive line coach to replace McInerney.