LAS VEGAS — Dan Mullen emerges from a darkened meeting room after reviewing film from a hot practice in July, feeling invigorated and refreshed. The UNLV head coach walks down a long hallway, cracking jokes and laughing with staffers. He’s not in a rush. He doesn’t have a series of meetings on his calendar or a slew of events to attend, unlike when he was a head coach in the SEC.
Four years after his career at Florida ended, Mullen is back in his element. The internal pressure to win is still there, but the outside roar that constantly surrounded him in the SEC seems like white noise out here in the desert of Las Vegas.
“There are 15 fan bases at the end of the year that expected to win the SEC championship that didn’t,” Mullen summarizes.
UNLV expects to win, yes, especially after reaching the Mountain West Championship Game in back-to-back seasons under Barry Odom. But the scrutiny on the program and its staff is nowhere near the nuclear levels at a place like Florida or even Mississippi State.
“Since that day (I took the UNLV job), I’ve been happy. I don’t have one regret,” Mullen tells CBS Sports. “Not one day I don’t have a huge smile on my face.”
Mullen has spent the better part of the last four years in television studios and press boxes as an analyst for ESPN’s college football broadcasts. As he covered games, he watched the sport he loves transform into a semi-professional league, with agents negotiating contracts for players and constant roster turnover in the transfer portal. Every week, he spoke to former coaching colleagues and realized they most were exhausted, nearing their breaking point as they dealt with immense changes and new stresses associated with their jobs.
Sometimes, they would ask Mullen if he wanted to…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/desert-phoenix-armed-with-a-blue-chip-roster-a-refreshed-dan-mullen-aims-to-make-noise-at-unlv/
Author : Brandon Marcello
Publish date : 2025-08-20 19:31:00
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