Dan Mullen is back to CFB coaching, returning as a head coach for UNLV after his ESPN stint. His career is filled with a lot of highs and lows, but it also makes him a seasoned HC who’s seen it all. He will lead the Rebels after taking over from Barry Odom, who took UNLV out of its perennial slump in college football. Mullen thinks he can take this reinvigorated team to even greater lengths. However, the Mountain West Conference might not think so.

Dan Mullen coached Mississippi State and Florida and comes with experience from the most competitive conference in CFB. Following a poor season with Florida in 2021, Mullen decided to take a break from the back-breaking job and took to the mic. That didn’t mean other college football programs didn’t want him. He told George Wrighster on the latter’s podcast, “I was enjoying, you know, the TV life. And all the different opportunities – people that would call and offer me jobs – just, none of them got me that excited.” And then came UNLV, which finished 11-3 under Barry Odon in 2024.

Mullen is keen on building on the groundwork laid by Odom, who led the Rebels to the Mountain West Championship game in the two years he was there. Using that already-existing momentum, Dan Mullen wants to go bigger this season. That’s the reason he joined UNLV, he said in a July 15 episode of Infinity Sports Network. “Number one was going to be the opportunity to win a Championship. And at UNLV last year, we were a game away from the college football playoff, lost to Boise [State] in the Mountain West Championship game,” he said. UNLV, in both the times it made the trip to the conference game, fell to Boise State.

“So there’s already a solid foundation. It’s not a rebuild from scratch. You know, there is a solid foundation of winning in place that [just] need needs a little push to get to the next step,” he added. Yes, UNLV, for the first time since Ron Meyer’s era, is back to winning ways. But, it is a way too steep climb for Dan Mullen. More than 30 new players will make their debut with the team, and 22 of his starters are gone. He has some great talents like Alex Orji. But making his way to the endgame will be beyond difficult for Dan Mullen. Before the season begins, UNLV is not quite up there yet.

Dan Mullen’s UNLV knocked out of playoff contention?

In the Mountain West’s recently released expected order of finish, UNLV found the second spot, behind conference ruler Boise State. There are member coaches who participate in the polling. UNLV was awarded 415 points for the conference. The problem here is that Dan Mullen’s squad has only 4 votes for finishing in the conference first place. Boise State, on the other hand, has 35. Though 2place is a good spot in the conference, and will shine on Dan Mullen’s record, his plans for the National Championship will take a hit.

Finishing 2 in the conference would mean a serious dip in their odds to make it to the playoffs. The winner of the Conference Championship gets a direct spot, and Boise State is an overwhelming favorite for it. Essentially, Dan Mullen and UNLV will once again fall short at this roadblock, which continues to be a growing trend now. And with Dan Mullen getting an entirely new team, there’s no guarantee that the program’s already set pace will continue. There’s a good chance the Rebels get knocked down.

However, Dan Mullen has been in demanding situations before. In the first-ever edition of the College Football Playoffs, Mullen’s 2014 Florida squad got the No. 1 seed. That is a commendable finish, especially because there were only 4 spots. This is not the HC’s first rodeo. But despite him having the experience, the UNLV team he has with himself now is different from the one that created this much-needed momentum. Will he be the answer to the Rebels fans’ prayers?