Why Dan Mullen Isn’t Worried About Players Leaving Via Transfer Portal

While many college coaches push back against the transfer portal, UNLV's Dan Mullen is taking a confident, player-first approach—trusting that development, culture, and championship ambition will keep his roster intact.

UNLV Rebels head coach Dan Mullen | UNLV Athletics

The transfer portal has become a polarizing topic in college sports over the past couple of seasons as its relevancy has skyrocketed. We are seeing more players than ever before bolt for another team when things don't immediately go their way at their current program. A lot of coaches and analysts have taken issue with this shift in dynamics. The argument is that these student-athletes are taking the easy way out and it's disrupting college sports as a whole, and it's bad for the sports.

However, UNLV Rebels head football coach Dan Mullen doesn't have an issue with his players exploring all their options and has decided not to hold it against the players on his roster that do decide to see what other options are out there for them. 

“I talked to a lot of the walk-ons,” Mullen said. “We’re waiting for the (impending House vs. NCAA settlement) ruling. I said, ‘You’re welcome to stay if they’re allowed to be part of the program. You’re all welcome to stay... If you want to go explore, you’re not going to lose your roster spot, in my mind, if you do go to the portal. Most of our guys in the portal are walk-on guys that know they have the spot here. They want to just see what the opportunity is for them elsewhere, depending on how the House case ends up and then how the settlement ends up.”

This is because Mullen is betting on himself and buying into his own product. He believes that UNLV is the best place for these players to develop and that they will have an opportunity to compete for titles. The new Rebels head coach thinks that players will choose to stay because it's their best option. 

“I think guys are here for the right reasons,” Mullen said. “I think it’s part of the recruiting, part of the coaching, part of the development. And, you know, if you’re here for all the right reasons, it’s pretty easy to stick around and be part of the program. They see where the program is at. They see the camaraderie we have... They see our opportunity to compete and win a championship.

We talk about it all the time. A lot of places skip the development part. We talk about it. Come to work every day, come develop, come get better, and let’s be a team that sticks together to go win a championship. And so this is a great place to be.”