UNLV names former SEC coach to replace Barry Odom
UNLV needed all of four days to find a replacement for football coach Barry Odom.
Dan Mullen, a former Mississippi State and Florida coach, was hired Thursday to take over a UNLV team that Odom built into a Top 25 program in two seasons.
Mullen, 52, will leave the role he’s held for the last three years as a TV analyst for ABC and ESPN to join the Rebels. The public is invited to his formal introduction at 11:30 a.m. Friday at the Fertitta Football Complex’s practice field.
While Mullen orchestrated two turnaround efforts in the SEC, he comes to Las Vegas with the new privilege of continuing a positive trajectory.
“I am very excited to be a part of the UNLV family,” Mullen, who becomes the 14th coach in school history, said in a statement. “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.”
EXPECTATIONS SET. LET’S GO, COACH 🔥 pic.twitter.com/sCAqmqf0Ja
— UNLV Football (@unlvfootball) December 13, 2024
NIL, ‘momentum’
Finalizing the deal with Mullen on Thursday morning was aided by a surging name, image and likeness budget, sources said.
Odom was 19-8 at UNLV and led the program to back-to-back bowl games for the first time in program history. He left to become the coach at Purdue, increasing his salary from $1.75 million this year with the Rebels to $6 million for his first season with the Boilermakers.
Details of Mullen’s contract were not available, but it reportedly will be a five-year deal to start.
A source said Thursday that boosters were scrambling to raise funds to keep Odom at UNLV for months prior to his exit, an effort that reached a climax days before he accepted the Purdue job.
Now, Mullen will benefit from what one athletic booster described as a “renewed interest in the community to support the UNLV football program,” sparked by Odom’s success.
Although Mullen will likely take a pay cut from the reported $7.57 million he made in his final year at Florida, sources said incoming donors are expected to inject millions of dollars into the program that Mullen can use to build his ideal roster at UNLV.
Athletic director Erick Harper alluded to that when asked about NIL amid Odom’s departure on Sunday, saying that the department had been working “feverishly” to “put together a package that will be beneficial for the next head coach coming in.”
Harper added that increased fan engagement this season, which featured two home games with announced crowds of more than 40,000 at Allegiant Stadium, could also contribute to increased salary for the next coach.
It’s why the word “momentum” appeared in all three statements UNLV released in the announcement of Mullen’s hiring.
“I’m confident that he’ll build on the strong momentum that Rebel football experienced the past two years and lead our program to even greater heights in the years to come,” UNLV president Keith E. Whitfield said in a statement.
Added Harper: “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.”
Mullen’s sentiment echoed something Odom said during his final new conference as UNLV’s coach.
“My expectation is to keep that excitement and momentum alive and produce a team for the university, the city of Las Vegas and the state of Nevada that is going to compete for championships on a regular basis,” Mullen said in the statement.
‘Offensive mind’
Mullen went 103-61 at Mississippi State and Florida from 2009 to 2021.
He took the Bulldogs from a 29-65 team in the eight years before his arrival to a record five bowl wins in eight appearances in nine years. No other Mississippi State coach had won more than two.
Mullen left to become the coach at Florida from 2018 to 2021. The Gators went 10-3 in his first season after finishing 4-7 in 2017. They won 11 games in 2019, their most in a season since 2012.
UNLV defensive back Jalen Catalon played under Odom at fellow SEC member Arkansas in 2020, a season that saw Florida lead the nation in passing offense, averaging 378.6 yards per game.
Catalon remembers the Razorbacks’ game against the Gators that season, a 63-35 loss.
“I thought he was a great offensive mind,” Catalon said Thursday of Mullen. “He put everybody in a great spot and gave everybody an opportunity to make plays. When you look at offense, those caliber-type players, you want to figure out how to get everybody the ball, and I think he did a great job of that against us. It definitely showed with the outcome of the game.”
Marion likely gone
By adding Mullen, UNLV is likely to lose another offensive talent in Brennan Marion.
The star offensive coordinator helped power UNLV to new heights with his innovative “Go-Go Offense” in two years on Odom’s staff. Despite speculation that Marion was set to join Odom at Purdue, Marion wanted to stay and pursue the head coaching job. He demonstrated his interest, in part, by committing to coaching the Rebels in the LA Bowl against Cal on Wednesday.
A source with knowledge of the situation said Thursday morning Marion had not been informed that he didn’t get the UNLV job and was disappointed he had not received an update.
Marion’s goal is to become a head coach, and he will now pursue external options, the source said.
It’s unclear if he will coach in the LA Bowl. Players said Thursday that Marion had been working with them. Interim coach Del Alexander said Thursday he expects Marion to coach in the game, but acknowledged that things can change quickly.
Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.