Mullen a good fit for UNLV, Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS — When Dan Mullen came to UNLV a year ago to replace Barry Odom as the Rebels’ head football coach, there were some raised eyebrows around town and a few questions as to what was athletic director Erick Harper thinking?

Could Mullen keep going what Odom started? Did he remember how to coach and recruit after spending three years as a television analyst? How would he fare in the Wild West world that is Name, Image and Likeness and the transfer portal where players left in droves each year?

Mullen was indeed ready. He kept the Rebels winning, going 10-4 and making a bowl game appearance for the third consecutive year, a first for the program. He saw attendance continue to increase for home games at Allegiant Stadium as UNLV averaged 31,589. The offense averaged 34 points and 446 yards a game while the defense gradually improved under Paul Hackett.

“I look at our goals. You want to be a better team at the end of the year than you were at the beginning,” Mullen said Thursday at Mountain West Football Media Day at the Palms Casino Resort. “We accomplished that. Now, it’s about taking the next step.”

So as Mullen enters Year Two on Maryland Parkway after he deflected the rumors he was returning to the SEC where he had previously coached at Mississippi State and Florida, he does so in a revised Mountain West where UNLV is considered one of favorites along with New Mexico and perhaps Hawaii. He has 29 total lettermen returning and seven starters. So you’ll probably need a scorecard to figure out who’s who.

Of those returnees, running back Jet Thomas is perhaps the key. In his three years with the Rebels, Thomas is ranked eighth on the school’s career rushing list with 2,457 yards. His 7.0-yard rushing average last season was No. 2 in the entire FBS.

UNLV placed five players on the All-Mountain West preseason team (Thomas, WR Taeshaun Lyons, OL Austin Boyd, DL Lucas Conti and DB Jake Pope). That’s a good nucleus for Mullen to work with. He’s hoping Jackson Arnold, the transfer quarterback from Auburn, can move the offense and utilize Thomas and Lyons, the latter who played at Washington and then Utah, to put points up on the scoreboard.

Defensively, the biggest get was perhaps the return of Mike Scherer who was Odom’s defensive coordinator and will work alongside Guenther and oversee the linebackers. Mullen was able to retain the majority of his staff which is important from a continuity perspective.

The fact Mullen himself stuck around says a lot about the state of the program. He has made it better in the year he has been in charge and had he bolted, he would have been able to say “I left it in better shape than when I found it” though Odom left UNLV in pretty good shape when he departed for Purdue.

His relationship with Harper appears to be solid. There is a constant dialogue between the coach and the AD and if Mullen believes his program needs something, he can go to Harper and discuss trying to obtain it. And when you’re winning, those conversations go a lot further.

“He’s a ball coach,” Harper said of Mullen. “He always wants to be the best. I’m an old football guy. I can have a conversation with any football coach. With Dan, we can talk and it’s a simple conversation. We want the same thing — success for the program and for the university.”

Apparently, living and working in Las Vegas has agreed with Mullen. Hey, if the guy could handle living on Staten Island, Vegas should be a breeze, right?

“I learned that the Strip is only 10 percent of Las Vegas,’ said Mullen, whose son Canon plays basketball at Bishop Gorman High School. “It’s a great place to live. My family loves being here. The support we've received from the university and the community has been fantastic.

“When I decided I wanted to return to coaching, I wanted to make sure it was the right fit. Las Vegas and UNLV have been the right fit.”

For Mullen, it’s about continuing to take the program forward. He believes between having the experience and success of last year, of having continuity within his staff and a core nucleus of star players, plus the addition of quality and depth on both sides of the ball, UNLV is in position to accomplish its goals.

“There’s a great foundation in terms of work ethic and expectations,” he said. “Our goal is to compete for and win championships. That’s the expectation here.”