UNLV’s Dan Mullen Praises Paul Guenther As Key Defensive Hire For 2025 Season

UNLV head coach Dan Mullen praised new defensive coordinator Paul Guenther for his NFL pedigree and leadership, calling him a vital piece of the Rebels’ championship-caliber coaching staff heading into the 2025 season.

Former Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Paul Guenther looks on prior to the game against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

When head coach Dan Mullen took over the head coaching job for the UNLV Rebels this offseason after Barry Odom left for Purdue, he had to bring in a whole new coaching staff. He did a great job, and the staff is loaded with brilliant football minds. One of the most notable and best hires he made was bringing an NFL veteran coach to be his defensive coordinator. Paul Guenther brings with him a vast wealth of knowledge and experience to Las Vegas. This week at the annual Mountain West Media Days, Mullen took the time to gush about his defensive coordinator and acknowledge how happy he is to have him on his coaching staff at UNLV.

“The defensive knowledge … when he walks into that room to talk to the players, with his background and experience in the NFL, he’s coming in and saying ‘These are the things you need to do. This is the style of defense we’re going to run, here’s what you need to do.’ He can be very matter-of-fact with them. He’s like ‘If your goal is to get to and play in the NFL, you’re playing for a guy that is going to coach you that way.’ I’m thrilled to have Paul.”

Another reason why this hire was so important is that Mullen is an offense-minded coach. So he needs a high-end defensive coordinator. The combination of an offensive mind like Mullen's and a defensive mind like Guenther's is going to be tough for the rest of the Mountain West to deal with.

This coaching staff has the potential to lead this team to a conference championship and perhaps even a College Football Playoff birth in the near future. All these things were set in motion months ago in the offseason. Now they just have to put it all together and execute on the field. With this coaching staff, we have no doubt they'll have the X's and O's in order.