Nebraska Head Football Coach Frank Solich brought Sanders back to Lincoln in 2003 amidst a staff shakeup following the Cornhuskers' first non-winning season since 1961.
Nebraska Defensive Coordinator Bo Pelini subsequently led the team to a 17-3 victory over Michigan State in the 2003 Alamo Bowl to finish the team's season at 10-3, but he and Sanders, along with nearly all of the remaining staff, were let go after Bill Callahan was appointed as Nebraska's 31st Head Football Coach.
After finishing just 2-10 in 2003 before his arrival, Sanders helped the Tar Heels improve to a 6-6 (5-3 ACC) record and posting the lowest yards allowed by a UNC defense in three years.
UNC Head Football Coach John Bunting was fired halfway through the 2006 season, and replaced by Butch Davis for 2007.
After a one-year absence from coaching, Sanders was again brought back to Nebraska following the firing of Bill Callahan after a four-year record of 27-22.
Pelini installed Sanders as the Secondary Coach for the Cornhuskers as part of his effort to turn around a program that had struggled under Callahan.
Nebraska's Blackshirts defense improved to rank as the second best in the Big 12 Conference in 2008 after languishing near the bottom of the pack nationally in the years prior.
Prior to the 2017 season, Loyola and the Los Angeles Times announced Sanders would not return to lead the Cubs' football program as the head coach.