After an oddly quiet start, the college football coaching carousel has been kicked into full gear, as we've reached peak "silly season" across the sport. And it seems that a former Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach may become the next head coach of the Rebels! No, not those Rebels...
Former Mississippi State Bulldogs coach Dan Mullen in discussions with UNLV for head coaching position
Wednesday night, news broke that former Mississippi State and Florida head coach and current ESPN analyst Dan Mullen is the favorite to become the next head coach of the UNLV Rebels. Joe Arrigo of Franchise Sports Media first reported the news with John Brice of FootballScoop putting out the first story on Mullen's candidacy in Las Vegas.
UNLV moving to nab former SEC coach Dan Mullen, seeking to finalize deal https://t.co/urLGE6KBrs via @JohnDBrice1
— FootballScoop (@FootballScoop) December 12, 2024
Per reports, Mullen and UNLV are in deep discussions for the job, and things seem to be trending towards him being the next head coach of the Rebels. Mullen spent 13 years as a head coach in the SEC from 2009-2021, winning 103 games. He led Mississippi State to eight-straight bowl games its first ever #1 ranking and then coached the Gators to three-straight New Years Six bowls with an SEC Championship Game appearance. Following his firing from Florida, Mullen became a college football studio analyst and color commentator for ESPN, a role he's held through the 2024 season.
Pete Nakos of On3 (subscription needed) reported that a big part of the conversation has been UNLV making a major commitment towards NIL and revenue sharing, making the program as attractive as possible within the new era of the sport.
UNLV and Dan Mullen are in discussions about the Rebels head coaching vacancy, a source told @On3sports.
— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos_) December 12, 2024
One point of emphasis has been a commitment to NIL and rev share, with UNLV prepared to roll out one of the highest NIL budgets in the MWC/Pac-12.https://t.co/Piw8LxJb6E pic.twitter.com/xggeqpi1P7
The job had already grown more alluring in recent years. The Rebels made the move to the new Allegiant Stadium a few years back, giving them a prime venue in the Mountain West. And they're now coming off a fantastic two year stretch in which they won 19 games, twice playing in the conference championship game, under Barry Odom, who has now left to become the next coach at Purdue.
Dan Mullen clearly looking to get back into college coaching
After a three-year hiatus, it's obvious that Dan Mullen has the itch to coach college football once again. His name has been thrown around for various openings over the last few years, both as a head coach or offensive coordinator. That includes Mississippi State, as many pondered if he might make a return to Starkville when the Bulldogs were making a hire last November.
That obviously didn't happen, and I'm not sure MSU ever even kicked the tires on their old coach during that search. But clearly Mullen wants back in the game, and it makes sense. He's a dang good coach that's still fairly young in coaching years.
And as for the potential gig, UNLV would be an outstanding landing spot. He gets to coach in Vegas for a program that's on the rise, and assuming the reporting about UNLV's NIL efforts are true, it seems like the recruiting aspect (which has always been the knock on Mullen) would take care of itself.
Dan Mullen could likely win a lot of games and live happily for a long time at UNLV. But he could also win enough to parlay the job into another power conference gig if he wants to go that route. It seems like a no-brainer. We'll see if Dan views it that way very soon.