UNLV hires former Florida and Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen as its new football coach

LAS VEGAS — UNLV is reaching into the Southeastern Conference to keep momentum going for its 24th-ranked football team, hiring former Florida and Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen on Thursday.

He will be introduced in a news conference Friday morning.

UNLV athletic director Erick Harper, in a news release, called Mullen "an innovator and nationally respected leader.''

''The momentum of UNLV football continues to skyrocket with Coach Mullen coming aboard and is even more proof that our university is serious about success," Harper said. "Rebel Nation came alive while watching this program reach new heights the last two seasons and we are excited to keep it moving forward under the leadership of someone the caliber of Dan Mullen.''

The 52-year-old Mullen replaces Barry Odom, who left for Purdue on Sunday after going 19-8 and helping the Rebels receive back-to-back bowl invitations for the first time in program history. UNLV will play California in the LA Bowl on Wednesday.

Harper wasted little time in finding Odom's replacement.

''These past two years, a foundation has been set to compete for championships, including being just one game away from making the College Football Playoff, which is a great testament to where we plan on continuing to be," Mullen said in a statement. "My expectation is to keep that excitement and momentum alive ...''

That includes a 34-15 record with the Gators from 2018-21. Florida went 4-7 the season before Mullen took over and then went 21-5 over his first two seasons at Florida. His record over the following two seasons was 13-10 before Florida fired Mullen.

He was 69-46 at Mississippi State from 2009-17, made eight consecutive bowl appearances and reached No. 1 in 2014. The Bulldogs were 29-65 over the previous eight years.

Instead of taking over a program coming off a losing season, this time Mullen inherits a team that is 10-3 and was in contention for a College Football Playoff spot before losing to now-No. 8 Boise State 21-7 on Friday in the Mountain West championship. It was UNLV's second straight appearance in the conference title game.

But the Rebels will be losing some key players, including quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams, wide receiver Ricky White III, linebacker Jackson Woodard and defensive back Jalen Catalon. Woodard was named the Mountain West defensive player of the year and White the conference's top special teams player after he blocked four punts.

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