The abrupt firing of Penn State head coach James Franklin is bound to spark a domino effect within this year’s head-coaching cycle, and the names that are being linked to the vacancy certainly would do so.
ESPN released a list of potential suitors for the job Sunday, and former Mississippi State and Florida coach as well as current UNLV head coach Dan Mullen was a name mentioned among four others.
Here’s some analysis on Mullen’s potential candidacy from ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg:
As UNLV has surged to a 6-0 start in Mullen’s first season, the market will view him in several lights. Yes, his Florida tenure fell apart in a hurry, but the issues in Gainesville clearly go beyond Mullen, who still went 34-15 with the Gators and had three AP top-15 finishes. Mullen’s overall record of 109-61 is very impressive, and other than Florida, he hasn’t been at the top resourced programs. He might not be a rabid recruiter, but he’s a superb quarterback developer and has the big-game wins Penn State lacked under Franklin. Although most of Mullen’s career took place at two SEC schools, Florida and Mississippi State, he was born in Pennsylvania and played college ball in the state at Ursinus College. Mullen, 53, might seek a move closer to the Northeast.
Mullen’s ties to the region and apparent urge to get back into the Power-4 coaching ranks could push him to Happy Valley. He has the Runnin’ Rebels out to a 6-0 start in just his first season at the helm after he immediately overhauled the roster via the transfer portal.
Parker is currently the sports editor with the Enterprise-Journal in McComb, Mississippi. He's a graduate from Mizzou who has experience covering the Tiger football and basketball beats for SB Nation, and he's worked for a variety of sports news outlets in the past.
