RENO, Nev. – Jim Mastro, a highly-respected coach in the collegiate ranks, and along with legendary Wolf Pack head coach Chris Ault one of the innovators of the Pistol offense which carried Nevada to some of its greatest heights, returns to the sidelines in 2025 to coach the program's running backs.
Over his 31 seasons of coaching college football, Mastro has spent 28 overseeing running backs.
He spent the previous three seasons (2022-24) on the Wolf Pack staff in administrative roles, most recently as the program's general manager in 2024.
Head Coach Jeff Choate on Mastro:
"We had an interesting shift with [Matt] Lubick moving to Kansas, and us elevating from within, that created an opportunity to shuffle a couple of things on the offensive side. This is something I've talked to Jim about for awhile—I felt like he still had some ball left in him. He's done a tremendous job with the community outreach things he's been responsible for; wearing a lot of different hats in the general manager role. He gives us another chance to have a veteran coach on the offensive side of the ball, and I'm excited to see what he's going to bring to us on offense."
The Jim Mastro File
• 2024: Nevada – General Manager
• 2022-23: Nevada – Senior Director of Football Administration and Operations
• 2018-21: Oregon – Running Backs
• 2012-17: Washington State – Running Backs
• 2011: UCLA - Run Game Coordinator, Tight Ends
• 2000-10: Nevada – Running Backs
• 1998-99: Idaho – Running Backs, Special Teams
• 1996: San José State – Running Backs
• 1994-95: Cal Poly – Defensive Line, Special Teams, Strength & Conditioning
• 1989-93: Cal Poly – Running Backs
Over Mastro's 11 previous seasons at Nevada (2000-10), he and Ault successfully developed the Pistol offense into one of the most potent in college football at the time. Nevada claimed a pair of WAC championships (2005, 2010), appeared in seven bowl games, and finished in the top five in the country in both rushing and total offense in each of his final three seasons in Reno (2008-10).
A Wolf Pack running back led the WAC in rushing five times and five Nevada running backs produced a combined nine 1,000-yard seasons over that span.
The 2009 Wolf Pack offense remains the only one in history with three 1,000-yard rushers in the same season, as running backs Vai Taua (1,345 yards) and Luke Lippincott (1,034), and quarterback Colin Kaepernick (1,183) accomplished the feat.
