Desert phoenix: Armed with a blue-chip roster, a refreshed Dan Mullen aims to make noise at UNLV
After a stint in broadcasting, former Florida coach is enjoying the process more this time around
LAS VEGAS — Dan Mullen emerges from a darkened meeting room after reviewing film from a hot practice in July, feeling invigorated and refreshed. The UNLV head coach walks down a long hallway, cracking jokes and laughing with staffers. He's not in a rush. He doesn't have a series of meetings on his calendar or a slew of events to attend, unlike when he was a head coach in the SEC.
Four years after his career at Florida ended, Mullen is back in his element. The internal pressure to win is still there, but the outside roar that constantly surrounded him in the SEC seems like white noise out here in the desert of Las Vegas.
"There are 15 fan bases at the end of the year that expected to win the SEC championship that didn't," Mullen summarizes.
UNLV expects to win, yes, especially after reaching the Mountain West Championship Game in back-to-back seasons under Barry Odom. But the scrutiny on the program and its staff is nowhere near the nuclear levels at a place like Florida or even Mississippi State.
"Since that day (I took the UNLV job), I've been happy. I don't have one regret," Mullen tells CBS Sports. "Not one day I don't have a huge smile on my face."
Mullen has spent the better part of the last four years in television studios and press boxes as an analyst for ESPN's college football broadcasts. As he covered games, he watched the sport he loves transform into a semi-professional league, with agents negotiating contracts for players and constant roster turnover in the transfer portal. Every week, he spoke to former coaching colleagues and realized they most were exhausted, nearing their breaking point as they dealt with immense changes and new stresses associated with their jobs.
Sometimes, they would ask Mullen if he wanted to trade places: him on the sidelines, them in a cushy chair watching games in an air-conditioned TV studio.
Just when I thought I was out...
What pulled Mullen back into the never-ending rate race? A pair of events with former players late in 2024.A 10-year reunion of his 2014 team at Mississippi State, the program's first to be ranked No. 1 in the College Football Playoff -- and for four consecutive weeks, no less -- tugged at his heart. Later, he attended the induction of former Utah quarterback Alex Smith into the National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame in Las Vegas.
"When you have wives coming up saying you've made such an impact on my husband, it hits a note with you," Mullen said.
While Mullen was in Las Vegas to watch his former quarterback be enshrined as a legend, he got a phone call from Harper. Odom had just left for Purdue, and athletics director Erick Harper needed a new coach to build upon UNLV's first double-digit win total in 40 years. Mullen and Harper had met previously at a golf event at the nearby Southern Highlands Golf Club, and stayed in touch.
"He went to my short list fairly quickly because I saw him in a non-coaching capacity, which is always important to me," Harper said.
It didn't take long for Mullen to accept Harper's job offer.
"In the past, I would tell myself to find some reasons why I should do this," Mullen said. "For UNLV, I was trying to find reasons not to. The second I have to try to find a reason why I should be excited about this job, I don't need it. This hit a lot of things."
A desert phoenix
Not long ago, UNLV football was practically left for dead, buried in the Mojave Desert sand. The program went a decade without a winning record before Odom arrived in 2023. Despite those struggles, the university invested heavily, unveiling a $35 million football complex in 2020 with amenities more often seen at a power conference program than a Group of Six school.UNLV's athletic director Erick Harper played linebacker on Bill Snyder's early Kansas State teams. There, he helped transform the Wildcats from "Futility U" into a Big 8 and Big 12 power in the early 1990s.
"I'm not saying that UNLV was sitting in a place of Futility U, but we were sitting in a space where in college football nobody was taking us seriously," Harper said. "I want everybody to understand that college football at UNLV is extremely important. It's a driver for the institution. There are a lot of eyeballs squarely on UNLV right now."
Indeed, UNLV has become a player on the West Coast. It was a key piece in the recent conference realignment shuffle as the Pac-12 and Mountain West battled for territory. UNLV ultimately stayed with the Mountain West, which offered significant financial incentives, including an eight-figure lump-sum payment.
At the same time, UNLV has sold itself as a beacon of NIL opportunities in Las Vegas, where sports and entertainment intersect and billions of dollars flow. The pitch has worked. It lured Mullen back into coaching and helped him rebuild a depleted roster.
"The game has changed quite a bit and seeing it from afar made it a lot easier," Mullen said. "If I stayed in coaching, I don't know if I'd be able to handle where I'm at right now. The changes would have been a lot harder. To see all the different changes from afar for three years certainly made it easier to reset who you are."
Power Four talent
When Odom departed, so did most of his players -- either through graduation or the transfer portal. UNLV returns only two starters this fall, the fewest in the FBS.Mullen was prepared for the exodus. His three years as an ESPN analyst gave him time to study rosters across the sport and identify portal targets quickly.
This past winter, UNLV didn't just dip into the transfer portal; it raided it like a Vegas high roller on a hot streak. By summer, the Rebels had signed 33 players with Power Four experience -- a haul unheard of for a Group of Six program. That influx pushed the roster to 37 former Power Four players, more than double the next closest Mountain West school.
And these weren't just castoffs. Sixteen were former four- or five-star recruits, names familiar to recruiting junkies from signing-day spectacles in the SEC and Big Ten. Suddenly, UNLV's roster didn't look like a mid-major struggling to keep up.
The list includes Michigan quarterback Alex Orji, TCU receiver JoJo Earle, Pitt/Florida defensive end Chief Borders, Arizona linebacker Justin Flowe and Georgia safety Jake Pope.
Twenty-one newcomers hail from the Big Ten and SEC. Four played for Mullen at Florida.
"You can't take everybody that is a 'Last Chance U' guy," Mullen said. "You can't have a roster where everybody hasn't played much. You have to get the right combination. … The first question I ask guys is, 'Why?' Why did you get in the portal? I want to know your 'why' to see how you fit, not just as a talented player, but how your personality fits within our program."
That's the challenge: building chemistry among players who may have already been on three or four different campuses.
"Everybody's gonna have their own opinion, but at the end of the day, it's your name that's on the back of the jersey," said Borders, who made three stops in the Power Four. "You've got to find the best situation that's for you."
Proving it on the field
Talent alone doesn't guarantee success. Coaches know teams without cohesion can unravel quickly. UNLV's first test comes immediately: the Rebels open Saturday in Week 0 against FCS Idaho State.
"One reason or another, you're here. I don't know how or why, whatever, but you're here," defensive coordinator Paul Guenther said. "I don't care if you played at LSU, Texas or Alabama. You're here now. You're an UNLV Rebel. I'm going to go based on what I see on the field here. I know some of you guys are 5-star guys, but all I know is you're here and this is a chance for you to prove to people, who maybe didn't think you belonged at those places, that it's your time to come together and get this thing done."
Mullen made his reputation as a developer of talent. At Mississippi State, he turned overlooked prospects into household names. He converted Chris Relf, a quarterback more suited to play tight end, into a nine-win starter with 2,400 total yards in 2010. He coached Fletcher Cox, Chris Jones and Dak Prescott, fueling eight straight bowl games and a 2014 run to No. 1 in the country.
"Back in those days, we developed players. Three years down the road, that group would be special. That doesn't exist anymore, and you have to come to grips with that," Mullen said. "How we built the program at Mississippi State doesn't exist in college football anymore. It just doesn't, and it's hard, so you have to evolve. It still doesn't mean you can't develop in your own way. You take that enjoyment in developing kids, but it's just going to be in a shorter window and an accelerated pattern."
Mullen has embraced change. He is still intense and speaks at a blistering pace, but in Las Vegas he appears more relaxed. After all, in the SEC, it just means more … pressure.
"I loved the fan base and everything that happened, but once you start tasting some filet mignon, that hamburger steak doesn't taste as good anymore," he said.
Mullen burst out of the gates at Florida with two top-10 finishes and a 29-6 start, the best 35-game record in program history. But a 2-9 stretch against power opponents and a perceived dip in recruiting led to his firing before the end of Year 4.
Simply put, in a power conference, life comes at you fast.
Mullen points to the roller coaster Ohio State coach Ryan Day rode in 2024. Armed with a $25 million roster, the Buckeyes were labeled championship-or-bust. When they lost to rival Michigan in the regular season finale, fans issued death threats and the Day family hired around-the-clock security. Two months later, Day hoisted the national championship trophy.
"Go put a smile on your face, let's go have a drink, enjoy it for five minutes and go celebrate. Take the family to Hawaii. Enjoy it," Mullen said. "It's hard to do. Having been out a couple years, I'm going to make sure I enjoy doing this. Now, trust me, you've seen me: on game day, I'll bite your head off. That part of me is not going to change, but I'm going to try to enjoy the whole process."
