UNLV football believes it has 2nd straight home run coaching hire

The transfer portal. Name, image and likeness dollars. Recruiting. Those are among the many things that go into building a successful college football program.

Perhaps none is more important than coaching.

UNLV athletic director Erick Harper appears to know this well.

He hit a home run by hiring Barry Odom, who in two years turned around one of the nation’s most downtrodden programs.

Now, after Odom left for Purdue, Harper has handed the keys to former Mississippi State and Florida coach Dan Mullen.

Another home run? Many think it’s inevitable.

Opening a season

Mullen will make his UNLV debut when the Rebels open their season against Idaho State on Saturday at Allegiant Stadium.

He’s tasked with building on Odom’s successful two-year run — which included a 20-8 record and two straight trips to the Mountain West title game — and maybe even surpassing it.

“One of the main things I wanted were guys that truly had a passion for this job and not just a job,” Harper said. “That was evident with both Odom and Mullen. It wasn’t just any job. It was this job that was the most intriguing of the opportunities they had.”

Harper grades coaching and recruiting as No. 1 and No. 1A when it comes to keys to a program’s success. At the end of the day, you need the right players to fit a specific system.

He believes it’s important for coaches to have a firm grasp of X’s and O’s, but they must also have the ability to adapt and work with their personnel. He believes those are traits both Odom and Mullen possess.

“They both have very high football IQs,” Harper said. “They seem to engage very well with athletes and not just being focused on the game itself. There are other things they try and instill. They’re mentors and teachers of the game and leaders of young men in the program.”

Harper played his college ball at Kansas State under Hall of Fame coach Bill Snyder. Harper later began his administrative career at the university and learned from the school’s late athletic director, Steve Miller, about hiring and supporting a football coach.

“(Miller) had a blueprint, a method to what he wanted to do when he hired Bill Snyder,” Harper said. “That started with, ‘If we’re going to be a good football program, we have to make the investment. If we don’t invest, we’ll be less than OK.’ I use that blueprint a lot.”

There are certain things Harper looks for in a coach.

Consistency. Someone’s who’s going to be hard, but fair. Who’s focused not just on what players are doing on the field, but what they’re doing off it, academically and socially.

Mullen seems to fit the bill. Odom is a tough act to follow, but Mullen’s résumé suggests he has more than a puncher’s chance at continuing UNLV’s recent winning ways.

He’s coached standout quarterbacks like Alex Smith, Tim Tebow and Dak Prescott and posted winning records at both Mississippi State (69-46) and Florida (34-15).

“He wants to win and compete at the highest level,” Harper said. “He wants to help young men grow, and just being OK is not OK. He wants to be great. He wants to be excellent. And he’s going to strive and work extremely hard to be that on a daily basis.

“He’s also going to be creative and innovative as a coach and mentor.”

Mullen’s mindset

Mullen often talks about the program and what it means. That things like coaching and the transfer portal and NIL dollars all combine to define how a specific team might perform.

He wants to keep UNLV heading in a positive direction. This year’s team has specific individual goals, but the program as a whole wants to continue elevating itself over the next several years.

That’s his mindset.

And it all begins against Idaho State.

“I don’t know if there’s added attention to this specific game,” Mullen said. “I just think everyone in the country can’t wait to get football back and get going again. I was looking at the schedule. We’ll have two games (UNLV plays at Sam Houston State on Aug. 29) before most play their first. It’s going to be exciting.”

How did UNLV get here?

Harper hit one home run in Odom. Most believe he’s gone deep again. Coaching, you see, matters.

Contact Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.