 Mullen in 2025 | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | UNLV |
| Conference | MW |
| Record | 9–2 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | (1972-04-27)April 27, 1972 (age 53) Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Ursinus College (B.S.) Wagner College (M.S.) |
| Playing career | |
| 1992–1993 | Ursinus |
| Position | Tight end |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1994–1995 | Wagner (WR) |
| 1996–1997 | Columbia (WR) |
| 1998 | Syracuse (GA)[1] |
| 1999–2000 | Notre Dame (GA) |
| 2001–2002 | Bowling Green (QB) |
| 2003–2004 | Utah (QB) |
| 2005–2008 | Florida (OC/QB) |
| 2009–2017 | Mississippi State |
| 2018–2021 | Florida |
| 2025–present | UNLV |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 112–63 |
| Bowls | 7–3 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1SEC Eastern Division (2020)[2] | |
| Awards | |
| George Munger Award (2014) SEC Coach of the Year (2014) | |
Daniel Mullen[3] (born April 27, 1972) is an Americancollege football coach who is currently the head coach at theUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). He served as the head football coach atMississippi State University from 2009 to 2017 and theUniversity of Florida from 2018 to 2021.[4] From 2022 until 2024 he worked as a studio analyst and color commentator for ABC and ESPN.
Mullen attendedTrinity High School ofManchester, New Hampshire, where he helped lead the Pioneers to the state championship in 1988.[5]
Mullen attendedUrsinus College inCollegeville, Pennsylvania, where he lettered for two years playingtight end and was a first-team All-Centennial Conference selection his senior year.[6] He graduated in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in Education. He went on toWagner College, where he coachedwide receivers and earned a master's degree in Education in 1996.[7]
After serving as a graduate assistant atSyracuse andNotre Dame, Mullen was hired byUrban Meyer to coach QBs atBowling Green from 2001 to 2002. Mullen would stay in the same position with Meyer after the latter was hired byUtah where they both stayed for the 2003 and 2004 seasons. During his tenure at Utah, he also recruited and briefly coachedBrian Johnson, a quarterback who led Utah to 13–0 and aSugar Bowl victory for the 2008-2009 season.[8]
Following an undefeated 2004 season which led to Utes QBAlex Smith being the first overall pick in the draft Meyer was hired by theUniversity of Florida. Mullen served as interim offensive coordinator[9] for the2005 Fiesta Bowl and led the team to a 35–7 win over thePittsburgh Panthers. After the victory Mullen would join Meyer's staff at Florida as offensive coordinator and QB coach.
As a coach, Mullen has coached several notable players, including quarterbacksAlex Smith (Utah),Heisman Trophy-winnerTim Tebow (Florida),Dak Prescott (Mississippi State), andKyle Trask (Florida).
Mullen, along with formerPhiladelphia Eagles andSan Francisco 49ers head coachChip Kelly, and formerWinnipeg Blue Bombers offensive coordinatorGary Crowton, are part of the so-called "New Hampshire mafia" as they all have strong connections to New Hampshire.[10]
On December 11, 2008, Mullen was hired as the head coach of Mississippi State by former Athletic DirectorGreg Byrne.[11]
Mullen's first recruiting class at Mississippi State was ranked 19th in the nation byScout.com.[12] and his 2012 recruiting class was ranked 18th in the nation.[13] In his first season as head coach at Mississippi State in 2009, his team went 5–7 against the toughest schedule in the nation.[14]
In 2010, his Bulldog team went 9–4 overall and 4–4 in the SEC including victories over Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, and Mississippi; the four losses came to teams ranked in the top 12. Mississippi State capped off the 2010 season by defeating traditional power Michigan in the 2011 Gator Bowl, 52–14, and achieved a number-15 ranking in the final AP poll.[15]
In 2011, Mullen's Bulldogs entered the year ranked number 19 in the nation. A loss to Auburn in the first SEC game of the year hurt the Bulldogs, and they went into the game vs Ole Miss with a 5–6 record. They defeated the Rebels, 31–3, and defeated Wake Forest, 23–17, in the Music City Bowl to finish 7–6 on the year.[16]
In 2012, Mississippi State opened with a win over Jackson State and a win over Auburn, the first time the Bulldogs defeated the Tigers since 2007. Mississippi State had a 7–0 record, and a number 13 ranking, entering a game vs number 1, undefeated Alabama. MSU lost, 38–7, and lost two more, to number 16 Texas A&M and number 9 LSU. MSU defeated Arkansas, and was looking for a fourth straight win over Ole Miss, who was 5–6 going into the game, similar to MSU the year before. The Bulldogs lost, 41–24, and then lost to Northwestern, 34–20, in the Gator Bowl to finish 8–5.[17]
Mississippi State started the 2013 season against number 13 Oklahoma State, losing, 21–3. They defeated Alcorn State, but lost to Auburn, 24–20. They defeated Troy, Kentucky, and Bowling Green, and lost to LSU, South Carolina, Texas A&M, and Alabama, to drop to 4–6, traveling to Little Rock, Arkansas, to battle Arkansas. MSU won, 24–17, in overtime, and was 5–6 entering the Ole Miss game. MSU missed a game-winning field goal to send the game into overtime, and Dak Prescott got a 3-yard touchdown run on 4th and 2, giving Ole Miss the ball up 17–10.Bo Wallace fumbled in the end zone, giving MSU the 17–10 victory, and for the first time in school history, a fourth straight bowl berth. MSU defeated Rice, 44–7, in the Liberty Bowl to finish 7–6.[18]
In 2014, Mullen led the Bulldogs to one of the greatest seasons in school history. He claimed his first Top 10 win at Mississippi State, as the Bulldogs knocked off #8 LSU, 34–29, at Death Valley, allowing them to enter the polls at #12. He followed that up by beating #6 Texas A&M, 48–31, in Starkville, vaulting them to third in the nation. A week later, they beat #2 Auburn, 38–23, which propelled them to the top spot in both major polls (as well as the inauguralCollege Football Playoff Top 25) — the highest ranking in Mississippi State's history, and the highest that any FBS team in Mississippi had been ranked at that late date in almost half a century. Losses to Alabama andMississippi ended any hope of a national championship. The Bulldogs finished 10–2 – only the third 10-win season in school[19] history. This netted them an appearance in theOrange Bowl, where they lost to Georgia Tech, 49–34, the third major bowl appearance in school history, after the1937 Orange Bowl and the1941 Orange Bowl.
On December 26, 2016, Mullen made SEC history when he became the first football coach in conference history to win a bowl game and still finish with a losing record on the season; Mississippi State finished the season with a 6–7 mark.[20]
On February 27, 2017, Mississippi State Athletic Director John Cohen announced a four-year extension for Mullen through February 2021.[21]
Primarily on the strength of his sterling 2014 season, Mullen was already the third-winningest coach in Mississippi State history, behind onlyJackie Sherrill andAllyn McKeen. On October 14, the Bulldogs defeatedKentucky 45–7, giving Mullen his 66th win with the Bulldogs and vaulting him past McKeen to become the second-winningest coach in school history.
On November 26, 2017, Mullen signed a six-year, $36.6 million contract[22] to become the new head coach of theFlorida Gators football team.[23]ESPN ranked Mullen's first recruiting class at Florida at 13, an increase of six from the previous season.[24] After a 4–7 campaign the previous year under coachJim McElwain, Mullen's first Gator squad went 10–3 and finished ranked No. 7 in the AP Poll after a 41–15 victory over then-No. 8Michigan in thePeach Bowl. He led the Gators to an 11–2 record the following year including a 36–28 win overVirginia in theOrange Bowl.
In his third season at Florida, Mullen's Gators began the season 8-1 and were ranked as high as #4 as quarterbackKyle Trask put up record-breaking numbers, including a nation-high 4,125 passing yards and 43 passing touchdowns, the latter of which set a school single-season record. However, they lost their last three games while giving up 144 points, including a 55-20 loss toOklahoma in Florida's first ever trip to theCotton Bowl Classic. Though the offense performed well, Mullen drew increasing criticism for his seeming disinterest in the bowl game, his struggle torecruit elite players to Florida, and the Gators' porous defense, which gave up more points per game than any Florida squad in over a century.[25] Though many fans and observers called for Mullen to fire defensive coordinatorTodd Grantham and shake up his defensive staff, he decided to keep Grantham and limited staff changes to two defensive assistant coaches.[26][27]
The Gators were 3–1 and ranked No. 10 at the end of September during the2021 season, but a series of upset losses saw Florida's record slip below .500. After blowout losses to arch-rival Georgia and 18.5-point underdog South Carolina in October, Mullen fired defensive coordinator Todd Grantham.[27] After an overtime loss to underdog Missouri, Mullen was fired as the head coach of the Florida Gators on November 21, with the Gators' record at 5–6, Mullen having posted a 2-9 record in his last 11 P5 games at UF.[28]
On May 14, 2022, Mullen began volunteering as a "contributing resource" for theLake Oconee Academy Titans by AD Chris Ingle.[29] Rumors flared days before this was released that he would be the offensive coordinator;[30] however,GHSA By-Law #2.51 states "An athletic coach must be a professional teacher meeting the teaching requirements and be employed by only one board of education or similar governing authority."[31] Mullen had no intention of teaching, thus the given title "contributing resource".
On December 12, 2024, Mullen was named the head coach atUNLV.[32]
In 2022, Mullen became a TV broadcaster. He worked as a studio analyst and color commentator, covering college football for ABC and ESPN until 2024 when he reentered coaching.[33]
Mullen married his wife, Megan, in 2005.[34] Together, they have two children.[35] Mullen also has a son from a previous relationship.[36]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi State Bulldogs(Southeastern Conference)(2009–2017) | |||||||||
| 2009 | Mississippi State | 5–7 | 3–5 | T–4th(Western) | |||||
| 2010 | Mississippi State | 9–4 | 4–4 | 5th(Western) | WGator | 17 | 15 | ||
| 2011 | Mississippi State | 7–6 | 2–6 | 5th(Western) | WMusic City | ||||
| 2012 | Mississippi State | 8–5 | 4–4 | 4th(Western) | LGator | ||||
| 2013 | Mississippi State | 7–6 | 3–5 | T–5th(Western) | WLiberty | ||||
| 2014 | Mississippi State | 10–3 | 6–2 | 2nd(Western) | LOrange† | 12 | 11 | ||
| 2015 | Mississippi State | 9–4 | 4–4 | T–5th(Western) | WBelk | ||||
| 2016 | Mississippi State | 6–7 | 3–5 | T–5th(Western) | WSt. Petersburg | ||||
| 2017 | Mississippi State | 8–4 | 4–4 | T–4th(Western) | TaxSlayer[a] | 23 | 24 | ||
| Mississippi State: | 69–46 | 33–39 | |||||||
| Florida Gators(Southeastern Conference)(2018–2021) | |||||||||
| 2018 | Florida | 10–3 | 5–3 | T–2nd(Eastern) | WPeach† | 6 | 7 | ||
| 2019 | Florida | 11–2 | 6–2 | 2nd(Eastern) | WOrange† | 7 | 6 | ||
| 2020 | Florida | 8–4 | 8–3 | 1st(Eastern) | LCotton† | 12 | 13 | ||
| 2021 | Florida | 5–6[b] | 2–6 | 6th(Eastern) | [b] | ||||
| Florida: | 34–15 | 21–14 | |||||||
| UNLV Rebels(Mountain West Conference)(2025–present) | |||||||||
| 2025 | UNLV | 9–2 | 5–2 | ||||||
| UNLV: | 9–2 | 5–2 | |||||||
| Total: | 112–63 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
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