LAS VEGAS — UNLV is again reaching into the ranks of former Southeastern Conference coaches to keep momentum going for its football program, with the Mountain West Conference school announcing Thursday that it has hired former Florida and Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen.
An introductory news conference is scheduled for Friday.
In a news release, UNLV athletic director Erick Harper called Mullen “an innovator and nationally respected leader.”
“The momentum of UNLV football continues to skyrocket with Coach Mullen coming aboard and is even more proof that our university is serious about success,” Harper added. “Rebel Nation came alive while watching this program reach new heights the last two seasons and we are excited to keep it moving forward under the leadership of someone the caliber of Dan Mullen.”
The 52-year-old Mullen replaces Barry Odom, who left for Big Ten program Purdue on Sunday after going 19-8 and helping the Rebels receive back-to-back bowl invitations for the first time in program history. UNLV (10-3), No. 24 in this week’s AP Top 25, will play Atlantic Coast Conference member California (6-6) in the L.A. Bowl next Wednesday.
Harper wasted little time in finding a replacement for Odom, a former SEC head coach at Missouri who revived his career with a Group of Five program in Las Vegas before making his way back to the power conference ranks.
“These past two years, a foundation has been set to compete for championships, including being just one game away from making the College Football Playoff, which is a great testament to where we plan on continuing to be,” Mullen said in a released statement. “My expectation is to keep that excitement and momentum alive.”
Mullen, most recently an ESPN college football analyst, went 103-61 at Florida and Mississippi State.
That includes a 34-15 record with the Gators from 2018-21. Florida went 4-7 the season before Mullen took over and then went 21-5 over his first two seasons at Florida. His record over the following two seasons was 13-10 before Florida fired him.
He was 69-46 at Mississippi State from 2009-17, made eight consecutive bowl appearances and reached a No. 1 national ranking in 2014. The Bulldogs were 29-65 over the previous eight years.
Instead of taking over a program coming off a losing season, this time Mullen inherits a team that was in contention for a spot in the 12-team playoff before losing to Boise State in the Mountain West Conference title game for the second year in a row — 21-7 this time after falling 44-20 in 2023.
However, the Rebels will be losing some key players, including quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams, receiver Ricky White III, linebacker Jackson Woodard and defensive back Jalen Catalon. Woodard was named the Mountain West defensive player of the year and White was voted the conference’s top special teams player after he blocked four punts.