Former Western Kentucky head football coach Mike Sanford has been hired by new Utah State coach Gary Andersen as the Aggies’ offensive coordinator, according to multiple reports Friday.

Sanford’s hiring was first reported by ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg.

Sanford would be reunited with former WKU offensive line coach TJ Woods, who left to join the Utah State staff earlier this week.

Sanford, who was fired as WKU’s coach Nov. 25 after two seasons, completed his tenure with a 3-9 record in 2018. He replaced Jeff Brohm as the Hilltoppers’ head coach prior to the 2017 season and led WKU to a 6-7 mark and an appearance in the Cure Bowl (a 27-17 loss to Georgia State) that year.

Andersen, the former Wisconsin and Oregon State head coach now in his second go-round with Utah State, is familiar with Sanford through his father. Mike Sanford Sr. worked as Andersen’s offensive coordinator at Utah State in 2012.

Mike Sanford Jr., who played quarterback at Boise State from 2000-04, had previous assistant coaching jobs at UNLV, Stanford, Yale, WKU, Boise State and Notre Dame – where he served for two seasons as offensive coordinator under Brian Kelly – before his tenure as the Hilltoppers’ head coach.