LINCOLN ‹ If money and football's X's and O's were the primary reasons Marvin Sanders coaches, he would have taken an opportunity to be an NFL assistant.
He had such an opportunity in 2003, when Frank Solich hired him at Nebraska.
Solich was restructuring his staff after a 7-7 season, and with input from Bo Pelini, whom he had hired as defensive coordinator, he picked Sanders to coach the defensive backs.
Sanders had spent the previous two seasons as the secondary coach at Colorado State. And he had attracted NFL interest. But he opted for Nebraska, where he had earned three letters and all-conference honorable mention as a free safety in the late 1980s.
He doesn't regret not going to the NFL "because I enjoy the relationship I have with these young men," Sanders said of those he coaches. "I'm able to talk to them about my experiences, not only in football but as a student-athlete. I love that relationship.
"If I can get a guy when he's 18, 19, right out of high school, I can have some impact on him. That's what I love about my profession. It was my high school coach and then Coach (Tom) Osborne who had the biggest impact on my life, personally and professionally.
"So I hope I can give something back to these young men."
Sanders talked about his philosophy following the Cornhuskers' first practice of the spring. His young son Payton stood patiently nearby, a smile on his face.
Sanders was smiling, too, inside and out. "When I walked out here for the first time, I just let out a yell," he said. Being back is "a really good feeling for me.
"But it's also an obligation I feel I have that when I step on the field to do the best job I can to get my alma mater, the program I love, back on the right track."
When Solich and his staff were let go after the 2003 season, Sanders never imagined he would return four years later. He spent the first three of those years as defensive coordinator at North Carolina. Then that staff was let go and he was out of coaching for a year.
When Osborne picked Pelini, Sanders got a rare opportunity to return.
"In this profession, you learn to never say never," he said. "I wanted to make sure I put my family in the best possible situation, for their future and my career."
After leaving Nebraska, he looked forward. He didn't allow himself to look back or to speculate about what might have been. "I'm blessed it came back around to this," he said. "You can never say never, but you can never expect anything to happen."
Life lessons are fine, of course, but coaches are ultimately evaluated on how the young men with whom they work perform on the field. What matters are results.
Sanders can point to the results in 2003, when the Cornhuskers set a school record with 47 turnovers, including 35 pass interceptions - best in the nation. Nebraska also ranked first nationally in pass defense, second in scoring defense and 11th in total defense.
Last season, the Cornhuskers ranked No. 112 in total defense, No. 114 in scoring defense, No. 117 in turnover margin, with only eight interceptions, and well, you know how it was.
Pelini's resume as defensive coordinator has much more on it than what he accomplished at Nebraska four years ago, however. "I try not to look back. I think I owe it to these kids," said Sanders. "I think the body of work Bo has done over his career has been proven successful. That's a good enough selling point to say the system works.
"It's been proven over the years, not just what we did in 2003."
When Sanders speaks to his players, he speaks as a former Blackshirt, someone whose aspirations were similar to theirs. "There were times when Coach (Osborne) got on me, but as I got older, I understood it was for the best," he said. "Remember the old Mark Twain saying, 'When I was 14, my parents didn't know a whole lot. Now that I'm 21, it's amazing what they've learned in seven years.' I told my guys that. I said, 'You might not understand what I'm saying today, but it may click tomorrow. I'm going to be as honest as I can.'"
Seeing Osborne observing practice is "kind of special," Sanders said.
He remembers when he played, and "Coach Osborne yelling at me," he said.
The criticism was always constructive, never personal. Players have to understand that, which is why building off-the-field relationships is so important.
Sanders has told his players those associated with the program, not just coaches, are "there to help you be a better student-athlete, a better person. As long as you keep pushing that message and the young men start believing, they'll understand it's never personal," he said.
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