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Dan Mullen has not been a head coach since 2021. The coach was fired by Florida after 4 seasons with the program and has since become a fixture of ESPN’s college football coverage. However, reports on Wednesday indicate that Mullen will soon have a new job.
Joe Arrigo was first to report that UNLV is set to hire Mullen as their HC following Barry Odom’s departure. He posted Wednesday evening that an official announcement about the move is “imminent.” FootballScoop reported that the two sides are working to finalize a deal.
The presumptive addition of Mullen will be huge for the Rebels. The team posted a 10-3 record in 2024 and was 1 game away from appearing in the College Football Playoff. This success led to Odom taking the HC job at Purdue and many wondered if UNLV would be able to replicate that success in the future.
Mullen is an accomplished coach who has 103 wins in the SEC. In 9 years at Mississippi State, Mullen compiled a 69-46 record with 7 bowl appearances. In 4 years at Florida, Mullen went 34-15 and took the Gators to 3 bowls. Overall, the coach has logged a 103-61 record as a head coach in 13 seasons.
The coach’s Florida tenure ended after the Gators had a 5-6 record during the 2021 season. Since then, Mullen has worked with ESPN and ABC as a studio analyst and color commentator.
If Mullen indeed takes the UNLV job, it will be his first HC job outside of the SEC. Mullen’s lone stint on the West Coast came when coached quarterbacks at Utah from 2003-04. Regardless, Mullen is a proven winner in college football who has led programs to immediate success in the past.
Bryce Lazenby covers college football for Saturday Down South. A Nashville native, his previous stops include FanSided, Dimers, and The Leaf-Chronicle.
