Why Dan Mullen Left TV For The UNLV Football Head Coaching Job

New UNLV Rebels head football coach Dan Mullen had been happy doing his TV gig for the past few years since his head coaching stint with the Florida Gators ended. He had received offers from multiple teams to take over their program each offseason, but none of those offers interested him. Then, UNLV athletic director Erick Harper came along with an offer for him to come to Las Vegas and take over the football program at UNLV. Mullen was intrigued by the offer and ultimately decided to take the job. Mullen spoke about how it all went down:  

“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.” 

One of the key factors that went into Mullen's decision to come to UNLV was the opportunity to win a championship:

“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.” 

It's become clear that taking over the UNLV job is not all about a paycheck for Mullen. He waited for a job that he wanted and took it. The former SEC head coach came to the Mountain West because he is passionate about the job, and he wants to lead them back to the championship game and get them over the hump against the Boise State Broncos. With realignment coming in 2026, this program is in a unique position to establish themselves as a dominant force in the G5 landscape for a long time.