LAS VEGAS (AP) — Former Florida and Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen has agreed to lead UNLV’s 24th-ranked football program, two people with knowledge of the hire said Wednesday.
The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no announcement has been made.
The 52-year-old Mullen replaces Barry Odom, who left for 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 will play California in the LA Bowl on Wednesday.
UNLV athletic director Erick Harper wasted little time in finding Odom’s replacement.
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 Mullen.
He was 69-46 at Mississippi State from 2009-17 and made eight consecutive bowl appearances. 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 is 10-3 and was in contention for a College Football Playoff spot before losing to now-No. 8 Boise State 21-7 on Friday in the Mountain West championship. It was UNLV’s second appearance in a row in the conference title game.
But the Rebels will be losing some key players, including quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams, wide 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 the conference’s top special teams player after he blocked four punts.