Four years ago, when the Florida Gators fired Dan Mullen, the HC confirmed, “The former two coaches too had successful stints at UF but we just haven’t been able to sustain it.” But although he hung his coaching hat for good and landed at ESPN for College Football Saturdays, he agreed, “A coach always wants to coach.” So when UNLV’s Barry Odom left for Purdue, Mullen knew where he wanted to be. The Athletic Director Eric Harper encouraging him for a meeting was only another sign. And why won’t a program want a proven HC of Dan’s caliber? Here are his previous numbers:

• From 2009-17 at Mississippi State, he went for a 69-46 record in a program that went 29-65 for the previous eight years.
• The Bulldogs made eight consecutive bowl appearances and reached No. 1 in 2014 under Mullen.
• He had a 21-5 record in his first two seasons at a program that went 4-7 just a year before he entered Gainesville.
• From 2018-21, he stood at a 34-15 record with the Gators.
• His HC career record stood at 103-61 at Florida and Mississippi State with 7-10 for bowls.

If you see a common denominator in both his previous two head coaching stints, Mullen inherited schools that did not do well over years. However, landing at Paradise means he gets a program that went 11-3 last season and was in contention of making the playoffs after second consecutive appearance in a conference title game. So, with his already proven skill of turning a program upside down, the schools are of course interested in him. He even got offers from the likes of LSU and more. But if you are wondering why he had the Nevada-based program circled as his target, he has given the answer.

In Thursday’s episode of the Unafraid Show with George Wrighster, the host’s first question to the 52-year-old HC was, “Why did you decide to come out of the booth and stick your neck back out as a college football head coach?”

Laughing at his question, Mullen revealed, “You know what’s interesting is that over the last couple of years, I’ve had a lot of different opportunities. And I was enjoying the TV life. And all the different opportunities – people that would call and offer me jobs – just, none of them got me that excited. I put it this way– I was always trying to talk myself into why I should go take that job. And if you have to do that, that’s not for you. So, when this opportunity came up, I saw Barry’s leaving for Purdue. You see, I knew being in media you know right away all the stuff going on. Don’t really think much about it.

“Then we were coming here for the Hall of Fame dinner. And Eric Harper, the AD, said ‘Hey can I grab you for a quick meeting?’ We go and meet and I start really looking at it and thinking about it. In today’s college football world, are there things in place you need that would excite me to come back to coach? Listen, (as) a coach – you always want to coach. You miss being around the guys, you miss being around the locker room, miss being like, all of that stuff. The football side of it, the crazy side of it. But the situation had to be right.”

Now again, his previous head coaching journeys have been more about finding the right pieces and then strategizing for how to improve the overall result. Both the Tigers and the Gators shared the same idea. And although there are some players moving out of Paradise this season, Mullen at least doesn’t have to construct a program from the ground up. In fact, he has not even been in the position for six months but has already started to plan things. In his offense-first techniques so far, this time he is also looking at the defense too. And with spring practices down, the Rebels are showing great signs, proving the AD chasing after Dan was productive.

“When you looked at UNLV, we have great facilities. We’re playing an amazing stadium. We’re coming off being a game away from the College Football Playoff. There are so many things in place. And in today’s world, I think that this is a sleeping giant. And I said ‘Hey, you know what, I don’t have to come and rebuild. I don’t have to come and build, I just have to come take the next step.’ That got me really excited.

“Obviously, the last couple of years, having some free time I’ve come and spent some time in Vegas, I love Las Vegas. Love the city, love the people here. I’ve gotten to know a bunch of people in the community and I think that really helped. When you added it all up together, I just said ‘Hey, you know, I think this is the opportunity we’ve been looking for.’ And I was excited. I’ve been excited ever since the day I said ‘Yes!’”

When thinking about plans, one of the main focus for Mullen right now are the fans, especially the UNLV students. Hence, in his attempts to bring more eyes to the team, he invited the students to watch the spring practices and about 200 even accepted. Moreover, he has opened the practices to public as well, unlike what the other coaches afraid that the opponents will steal signals would do. For him, the previous two schools had established fanbases. However, UNLV is only beginning to pay attention, but Mullen is optimistic as he mentioned that the new offensive style of play has “people around campus and people in the UNLV community, and hopefully the entire city, excited about us.”

He signed a $17.5 million/ 5-year contract. But more than the money, it was the case of being at the right place at the right time for him.

UNLV came at the right time for Dan Mullen

UNLV has shown promise in the last few years and seemed to be just what Dan Mullen was waiting for. Harper told AP, “The more we talked, the more you could feel the fire in his belly to get back out on the field and do what he loves to do.” Mullen was waiting for the right opportunity to get back into the game, and that happened to be with the Rebels in 2025.

Mullen comes with coaching experience from being an OC and QB coach under Urban Meyer. The veteran coach knew he would “develop into [head coaching]” eventually after his multiple degrees on the same lines. And now that he’s here, he seems ready to lead the Rebels into a promising season.

The media stint is something he said he’ll be looking back to as well as a head coach. “The greatest thing you have being at ESPN, I’ve gotten to watch everybody play… I’m watching every game in college football. I’ve seen them all,” he told OutKick‘s Dan Dakich. How will Mullen do in his comeback to college football because, of course, while he is getting a well-set program, the same reason also brings more responsibilities.