Dan Mullen is back in the game.
According to various reports, the 52-year-old media personality has agreed to become the head coach at UNLV. This comes in the wake of UNLV’s current head coach Barry Odom leaving to take the Purdue job.
Most recently, Mullen had been an on-air personality for ESPN. He most recently coached at Florida before being let go in 2021.
It’s an interesting hire for UNLV. Mullen has proven to be a highly successful coach dating back to his days at Mississippi State. He built that program from the ground up relying heavily on transfers and junior college players.
In this era, UNLV likely will operate the same way. We’ve seen the Runnin’ Rebels have success over the last few years under Odom’s leadership. Situated next to California and Arizona, and relatively close to Texas, there’s plenty of talent to pull from — especially when the state of Nevada itself is seeing an uptick in homegrown prospects.
Mullen’s penchant for coaching quarterbacks should be a major benefit when it comes to recruiting. He was personally responsible for developing Tim Tebow and Dak Prescott among others.
Throughout his head coaching career, Mullen racked up a 103-61 record. He also won seven of his 10 bowl appearances.
Mullen has the gravitas necessary to help UNLV enjoy an uptick in recruiting. There’s no word on who would potentially join him as staff members. Having said that, Mullen’s decorated career has involved a number of high-profile stops.
One can assume his rolodex is chock-full of guys ready to make their mark in Las Vegas under his leadership.
