Former Tennessee offensive coordinator Randy Sanders has been hired by Kentucky, two sources told the News Sentinel on Sunday.

Sanders was offered the job of quarterbacks coach on Friday and accepted Saturday.

Sanders will fill the position vacated by Kurt Roper, who was hired by UT as running backs coach earlier this month. Roper coached quarterbacks at Kentucky last season.

Sanders, 40, coached 17 years at UT. He was the offensive coordinator for six seasons before resigning in late October in the midst of UT’s disappointing 5-6 season.

Sanders’ unit bore most of the brunt for UT’s fall from a pre-season No. 3 ranking. UT’s offense ranked No. 90 in total offense (326 yards per game) and No. 101 in scoring offense (18.6 points per game).

Former UT coach David Cutcliffe was hired to replace Sanders in December.

Sanders told the News Sentinel earlier this month that he was encouraged by the amount of interest schools had shown him since he left UT. Sanders was mentioned for vacancies at Arkansas and Miami.

"It has been good," Sanders said then. "I had been at Tennessee a long time and hadn't really been approached about any jobs and not really pursued any.

"I didn’t really know what the outside perception in the coaching world was of me or my abilities."

Sanders could not be reached for comment on Sunday.