Dan Mullen Reveals Why He Chose UNLV Over Staying at ESPN

The new head coach of the UNLV Rebels, Dan Mullen, had a cushy broadcasting gig at ESPN yet chose to return to grind of college football head coaching.

Former Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen watches play against the Missouri Tigers during the game at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

This offseason, the UNLV Rebels were able to pry new head coach Dan Mullen away from his job at ESPN to take their coaching job in Vegas. He recently explained why the Rebels job was so attractive to him.

Mullen on Why He Chose UNLV Over ESPN

 “As my wife said, when we retired with this kind of good TV job, living at Reynolds on Lake Oconee,” Dan Mullen said. “And she’s like, yeah, and now we’re packing up and moving the family to Las Vegas. She’s like you’ve turned down a lot of jobs, you’ve gotten a lot of calls, why this one? I just — again, looking at the makeup of today’s college football world, and I’ve always thought UNLV is a sleeping giant, I really have. You have a great city. There’s football talent here in the city of Las Vegas. It’s a four-hour drive to Phoenix a three-hour drive to LA. You can draw that circle where kids can get here, and you have a great recruiting area to go get players. You have a city that offers everything.”

Mullen on Barry Odum's Work With UNLV

He continued, crediting former head coach Barry Odum and the foundation he has already built at UNLV:

“So, I was like, hold on, we have facilities, we play in Allegiant Stadium with the Raiders, like this place is just set up, and Barry Odom has come in and won double-digit games the last two years and we were a game away from getting a first round bye in the College Football Playoff last year. I said I’m not walking into a place that needs a giant rebuild. I’m walking into a place that needs to take the next step, and there’s a lot in place to make that happen.”

Mullen on Working and Living in Las Vegas

Mullen also expressed his love for the city of Vegas:

“I’m a big fan. I love the city of Las Vegas. I think it’s an awesome place. Especially a lot of people associate Vegas with the strip, that one little area. You get outside the 2.5 million people who live in this city, it even still feels like a small town within a big city. Great people. Great place to live.”

Mullen on His Championship Aspirations

His ultimate goal is clear and it's to win championships at UNLV:

“So, when you added it all up, I said we’re gonna go. I think we can compete for championships, compete for spots in the College Football Playoff. I think we’ll be able to attract really good players here in the new world of college football. And I think this is going to be a great place. My kids, just for us, for the family to live, I think this is going to be a great place.”

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