With in-season openings at six different Power Five programs as we sit here in mid-October, Dan Mullen has UNLV undefeated at 6-0 with a win over UCLA early in the season to his credit.
With successful previous stops leading programs at Mississippi State and Florida before becoming an analyst for ABC and ESPN for a few seasons prior to getting back into coaching, it's no surprise to see his name brought up as coveted college programs begin their search for their new leader.
Mullen fielded a question at his post practice presser today about he deals distractions like when his name is brought up to replace someone like James Franklin at Penn State.
"I'll be here," an unfazed Mullen interrupted the reporter's question by responding.
"Listen, I'll make it real simple. Want me to do that? I'm going to be the head coach at UNLV next year."
"'ll be here. I'm not going anywhere."
Pressed on if he had had that conversation with players, Mullen matter-of-factly shared that he just did.
"Good or bad. I said, 'It's the transfer portal world. Don't get all excited and think I'm going to go somewhere you think is a better place. I am going to be here. You guys are stuck with me," he shared, before going on to sing Franklin's praises on where he had built that program up to just before the loss to UNLV began to unravel their season, and ultimately his 12-season tenure there.
"I am very, very happy here. I like Vegas," he ended his response by sharing.
Whether or not you take that statement as fact is for you to decide, but there's no question that Mullen is a veteran of dealing with outside narratives at this point in his career.
Mullen inked a five-year $17.5 million deal worth about $3.5 million annually upon taking the Rebels job.
After an impressive run with Urban Meyer when the two crossed paths at Notre Dame (Urban as the receivers coach and Mullen as a graduate assistant) and blossomed into Mullen coaching Meyer's quarterbacks at Bowling Green and Utah before adding the offensive coordinator title at Florida, Mullen landed the head coaching job at Mississippi State in 2009.
After a 5-7 debut season rebuilding the program, Mullen took the Bulldogs to eight straight bowl trips, helping them climb as high as #2 nationally (their highest ranking in school history) during the 2014 season after they knocked off three straight top 10 teams in LSU, Texas A&M and Auburn.
In 2017, Mullen left Starkville - where he had established himself as the second-winningest head coach in school history - and became the head coach at Florida. He would win double-digit games in his first two seasons in Gainesville, and then went 8-4 in year three. After a slow start to his fourth season, Mullen was dismissed after a 5-6 start following an upset loss to Missouri.
After a few years as a TV analyst, UNLV tabbed the veteran head coach heading into this fall to keep the momentum built by Barry Odom and his staff, as the Rebels established themselves as a top Group of Five program before he ultimately left to take over at Purdue.
See Mullen's full press conference comments in the clip.