Current position | |
---|---|
Title | Head coach |
Team | UNLV |
Conference | MW |
Record | 0–0 |
Biographical details | |
Born | Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, U.S. | April 27, 1972
Alma mater | Ursinus College (B.S.) Wagner College (M.S.) |
Playing career | |
1992–1993 | Ursinus |
Position(s) | 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 | 103–61 |
Bowls | 7–3 |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
As Florida (OC)
| |
Awards | |
| |
Daniel Mullen [3] (born April 27, 1972) is an American college football coach, who is currently the head coach at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He served as the head football coach at Mississippi State University from 2009 to 2017 and the University of Florida from 2018 until 2021. [4] From 2022 until 2024 he worked as a studio analyst and color commentator for ABC and ESPN.
Mullen attended Trinity High School of Manchester, New Hampshire, where he helped lead the Pioneers to the state championship in 1988. [5]
Mullen attended Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, where he lettered for two years playing tight 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 to Wagner College, where he coached wide receivers and earned a master's degree in Education in 1996. [7]
After serving as a graduate assistant at Syracuse and Notre Dame, Mullen was hired by Urban Meyer to coach QBs at Bowling Green from 2001 to 2002. Mullen would stay in the same position with Meyer after the latter was hired by Utah where they both stayed for the 2003 and 2004 seasons. During his tenure at Utah, he also recruited and briefly coached Brian Johnson, a quarterback who led Utah to 13–0 and a Sugar Bowl victory for the 2008-2009 season. [8]
Following an undefeated 2004 season which led to Utes QB Alex Smith being the first overall pick in the draft Meyer was hired by the University of Florida. Mullen served as interim offensive coordinator [9] for the 2005 Fiesta Bowl and led the team to a 35–7 win over the Pittsburgh 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 quarterbacks Alex Smith (Utah), Heisman Trophy-winner Tim Tebow (Florida), Dak Prescott (Mississippi State), and Kyle Trask (Florida).
Mullen, along with former Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly, and former Winnipeg Blue Bombers offensive coordinator Gary 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 Director Greg Byrne. [11]
Mullen's first recruiting class at Mississippi State was ranked 19th in the nation by Scout.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 inaugural College 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 and Mississippi 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 the Orange Bowl, where they lost to Georgia Tech, 49–34, the third major bowl appearance in school history, after the 1937 Orange Bowl and the 1941 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 only Jackie Sherrill and Allyn McKeen. On October 14, the Bulldogs defeated Kentucky 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 the Florida 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 coach Jim 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. 8 Michigan in the Peach Bowl. He led the Gators to an 11–2 record the following year including a 36–28 win over Virginia in the Orange Bowl.
In his third season at Florida, Mullen's Gators began the season 8-1 and were ranked as high as #4 as quarterback Kyle 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 to Oklahoma in Florida's first ever trip to the Cotton Bowl Classic. Though the offense performed well, Mullen drew increasing criticism for his seeming disinterest in the bowl game, his struggle to recruit 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 coordinator Todd 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 the 2021 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. [28]
On May 14, 2022, Mullen began volunteering as a "contributing resource" for the Lake 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 at UNLV. [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) | W Gator | 17 | 15 | ||
2011 | Mississippi State | 7–6 | 2–6 | 5th (Western) | W Music City | ||||
2012 | Mississippi State | 8–5 | 4–4 | 4th (Western) | L Gator | ||||
2013 | Mississippi State | 7–6 | 3–5 | T–5th (Western) | W Liberty | ||||
2014 | Mississippi State | 10–3 | 6–2 | 2nd (Western) | L Orange † | 12 | 11 | ||
2015 | Mississippi State | 9–4 | 4–4 | T–5th (Western) | W Belk | ||||
2016 | Mississippi State | 6–7 | 3–5 | T–5th (Western) | W St. 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) | W Peach † | 6 | 7 | ||
2019 | Florida | 11–2 | 6–2 | 2nd (Eastern) | W Orange † | 7 | 6 | ||
2020 | Florida | 8–4 | 8–3 | 1st (Eastern) | L Cotton † | 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 | 0–0 | 0–0 | ||||||
Total: | 103–61 | ||||||||
National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
|
Urban Frank Meyer III is an American sportscaster and former college football coach. He spent most of his coaching career at the collegiate level, having served as the head coach of the Bowling Green Falcons from 2001 to 2002, the Utah Utes from 2003 to 2004, the Florida Gators from 2005 to 2010, and the Ohio State Buckeyes from 2012 to 2018. He retired from coaching in 2019 at the end of the Rose Bowl, and stayed at Ohio State as an assistant athletic director and was also an analyst for Fox Sports, appearing weekly on their Big Noon Kickoff pregame show. In 2021, Meyer came out of retirement to take his first National Football League (NFL) job as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, but was fired 13 games into his first and only season, after going 2–11 and being involved in both on- and off-field controversies. He then went back to Fox Sports to resume his broadcasting career.
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Ronald Andrew Zook is an American football coach who is a special teams quality control coach at the University of Maryland. He was the head football coach at the University of Florida from 2002 to 2004 and the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign from 2005 to 2011.
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Jeffrey Todd Grantham is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for Oklahoma State. He has previously served as defensive coordinator at the University of Florida.
Mississippi State Bulldogs is the name given to the athletic teams of Mississippi State University, in Mississippi State, Mississippi. The university is a founding member of the Southeastern Conference and competes in NCAA Division I.
The Kentucky Wildcats football program represents the University of Kentucky in the sport of American football. The Wildcats compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Wildcats play their home games at Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky and are led by head coach Mark Stoops.
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The Mississippi State Bulldogs football program represents Mississippi State University in the sport of American football. The Bulldogs compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They also have won one SEC championship in 1941 and a division championship in 1998. The Bulldogs have 26 postseason bowl appearances. The program has produced 38 All-Americans, 171 All-SEC selections, and 124 NFL players. The Bulldogs’ home stadium, Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field, is the second oldest in the NCAA Division I FBS.
William Lawrence Muschamp is an American football coach and former player who is a defensive analyst at the University of Georgia. He previously served as the Bulldogs' co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach from 2022 to 2024. Before his time at Georgia, he served as head football coach at the University of Florida from 2011 to 2014 and at the University of South Carolina from 2016 to 2020.
The 2009 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team represented Mississippi State University during the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Mississippi State has been a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) since the league's inception in 1932, and has participated in that conference's Western Division since 1992. The Bulldogs played their home games in 2009 at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field in Starkville, Mississippi, which has been MSU football's home stadium since 1914.
Brian Delance Johnson is an American professional football coach and former quarterback who is the assistant head coach and offensive pass game coordinator for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He has been an offensive coordinator for the NCAA's Utah Utes, Houston Cougars, and Florida Gators and the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles. Johnson played college football at Utah and was briefly a member of the United Football League's (UFL) New York Sentinels in 2009.
The 2011 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team represented Mississippi State University in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Dan Mullen, who was in his third season with Mississippi State. The Bulldogs played their home games at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field in Starkville, Mississippi and compete in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They finished the 2011 season with a 7–6 overall play, 2–6 in SEC play, placing fifth in West Division, and were invited for Music City Bowl, where they defeated Wake Forest.
Joe Moorhead is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach for the University of Akron, a position he has held since 2022. Moorhead served as the head football coach at Fordham University from 2012 to 2015 and Mississippi State University from 2018 to 2019. Prior to entering coaching, Moorhead played as a quarterback at Fordham from 1992 to 1995 and professionally for the Munich Cowboys of the German Football League from 1996 to 1997.
The Florida–Kentucky rivalry is a college sports rivalry between the University of Florida Gators and the University of Kentucky Wildcats. The rivalry between these schools, both founding members of the Southeastern Conference, has existed since before the conference's founding. Both teams are historic basketball rivals, both winning multiple national championships and conference championships over the past 100 years. In recent years, the football rivalry between Kentucky and Florida has escalated due to Kentucky breaking a streak of 31 consecutive years where the Florida Gators had beaten them. Despite the lopsidedness of the football series, Kentucky has won four of the last six games between the two.
The 2014 Orange Bowl is a college football bowl game that was played on December 31, 2014, at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The 81st Orange Bowl is a "New Year's Six Bowl" of the College Football Playoff. It was one of the 2014–15 bowl games that concluded the 2014 FBS football season.
The history of Florida Gators football began in 1906, when the newly established "University of the State of Florida" fielded a football team during its first full academic year of existence. The school's name was shortened to the University of Florida in 1908, and the football team gained the nickname "Gators" in 1911. The program started small, usually playing six to eight games per season against small colleges and local athletic club teams in north Florida and south Georgia. The Orange and Blue developed early rivalries with the Stetson Hatters from nearby Deland and Mercer Bears from Macon. During the 1910s, Florida began playing a wider range of opponents from more established football programs across the southeastern United States and faced off against several future rivals - such as Georgia, Georgia Tech, South Carolina, and Auburn - for the first time.
The 2018 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gators played their home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida. Florida played as a member of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by first-year head coach Dan Mullen.
Greg Knox is an American college football coach. He is the director of career and professional development for Mississippi State University, a position he has held since 2024. He previously was the Interim Head Coach at Mississippi State University. Knox served as interim head football coach at Mississippi State for the final game of the 2017 and at the University of Florida for the final two games in 2021. From 2009 to 2021, he was Dan Mullen's running backs coach, first at Mississippi State and then at Florida.
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