Guenther putting stamp on UNLV’s defense after surprise resignation

He’s putting in some new wrinkles as he witnesses the learning curve of a defense.

Paul Guenther is off and going as defensive coordinator for UNLV football.

Guenther was named in the interim role Monday when former defensive coordinator Zach Arnett resigned for what was termed “personal reasons.”

The school did not provide additional details on the reasons behind Arnett’s decision.

Arnett could not be reached for comment Saturday.

That’s when the Rebels held the first of three spring scrimmages.

“It’s always hard when you (lose someone off the coaching staff),” UNLV coach Dan Mullen said. “With a situation like this, it’s always tricky within a program at the time. … We’re fortunate to have Paul here to come in and just pick things up. You’re talking about a guy that’s 20 or however many years in the NFL … doing it at the highest of high levels.”

As scheduled, Mullen was the only coach who spoke to the media Saturday.

Guenther, 53, was hired by UNLV as associate head coach in March after coaching 21 seasons in the NFL for five teams. He was in charge of the Raiders’ defense from 2018 to 2020, a stretch that included the franchise’s move to Las Vegas.

“I think we’re very basic right now on defense,” Mullen said. “We’re still rolling with some of the stuff that was already in, and (Guenther) is adding a couple new twists of stuff he likes. We’ll continue to grow on that.

“He’s just putting in some different things … what he wants to focus on and get in first within the base things. We’ll build and expand off that.”

Arnett, 38, was hired at UNLV after spending a season as an analyst at Ole Miss under coach Lane Kiffin. Arnett was Mississippi State’s coach for parts of two seasons before that.

Contact Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.