DillonSanders

Dillon Sanders joined the Kentucky football staff in 2026 as the inside linebackers coach, returning to Lexington for his second stint with the Wildcats after serving as a defensive assistant from 2016-18. Sanders brings more than 15 years of coaching experience spanning the collegiate, high school and professional ranks, including coordinating defenses, developing NFL talent and leading championship-caliber units.

Sanders most recently served as defensive coordinator at Ensworth School in Nashville, Tennessee. During his two seasons with the Tigers, Ensworth posted an 18-5 record, and every defensive starter signed to play college football, including four with Power Four programs.

Before Ensworth, Sanders spent four seasons at Murray State as defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach. Following the retirement of former Kentucky assistant Dean Hood at the conclusion of the 2024 season, Sanders was named the Racers’ acting head coach while the university conducted its coaching search.

During his tenure at Murray State, Sanders guided one of the Ohio Valley Conference’s top defensive units. In 2021, the Racers led the OVC in total defense (345.7 yards allowed per game), pass defense (180.7 yards per game) and sacks (1.64 per game), while helping Eric Samuta earn back-to-back All-OVC honors and Darnel Victor collect the first all-conference recognition of his career. In his first season with the Racers in 2020, Samuta earned first-team All-OVC honors and Alec Long was a second-team selection.

Prior to arriving at Murray State, Sanders spent the 2019 season as linebackers coach at New Mexico, where he coached second-team All-Mountain West selection Jacobi Hearn.

Sanders previously spent three seasons on Kentucky’s staff as a football quality control assistant and defensive graduate assistant, working primarily with the Wildcats’ linebackers. During that time, he helped develop Josh Hines-Allen, the 2018 Chuck Bednarik Award winner as the nation’s top defensive player and the No. 7 overall selection in the 2019 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

From 2013-15, Sanders served as a defensive graduate assistant at Utah State, working with the Aggies’ outside linebackers. During his tenure, Utah State ranked among the nation’s top defensive teams, finishing 17th nationally in total defense and 12th in pass defense, while Sanders helped coach future NFL Draft picks Kyler Fackrell and Nick Vigil.

Sanders began his coaching career as an undergraduate assistant at his alma mater, Northern Colorado (2009-10), and also spent five seasons with the Colorado Ice of the Indoor Football League (2009-2013), including his final three seasons as offensive coordinator.

A native of Lafayette, Colorado, Sanders earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and finance from Northern Colorado in 2010. He went on to earn a master’s degree in physical and sport education from Utah State in 2015. He and his wife, Becca, have a daughter, Karsynn, and a son, Kaden.

Dillon Sanders’ Coaching Career