John Saccenti has known Dan Mullen since 2008. Known the man who now runs the UNLV football program. Known the person who is thought to be one of the nation’s top offensive minds.
Known him to be a great friend.
Make no mistake. Saccenti helped broker the deal that brought Mullen to the Rebels. Helped forge a relationship between UNLV athletic director Erick Harper and his new coach. Helped make this happen.
Saccenti is the executive director of the Las Vegas Bowl who once made annual treks to Mississippi State and Florida when Mullen was coaching at each stop.
Played golf with each other. Went on vacations with Mullen and his family. Introduced the coach to all that is Las Vegas.
Assured him this was the time and place. That what former coach Barry Odom had delivered the past few seasons could be matched and even improved upon. That this was the perfect moment for Mullen to step out of the ESPN studio and back onto the sidelines.
Had the itch
“Barry positioned the program in a better way than it had been,” Saccenti said. “There’s a bigger commitment to football now. There’s more money. (Mullen) really started to like Las Vegas. He really had the itch again.
“I called him at 6 a.m., and he didn’t even know Barry had left. I said, ‘Buddy, things are different now. Let’s have a conversation.’”
Said Harper: “(Mullen) is a name that turns heads. A name that a couple years ago would have been a pipe dream to attract.”
UNLV introduced Mullen on Friday as the coach who will replace Odom and his two consecutive bowl games for the first time in school history and back-to-back Mountain West championship appearances.
The coach who to this day is given credit by former Florida boss Urban Meyer for helping develop the spread offense that again made the Gators into a national championship program. An offense that began to take hold when Meyer and Mullen were at Utah in 2003 and 2004, along with then-offensive coordinator and former UNLV coach Mike Sanford.
Mullen made one thing clear at Friday’s news conference: This is not a rebuilding process. That the program Odom delivered is aligned in the right direction.
But that there is a next step to take along the path of success, and that’s to win a conference championship and take the UNLV brand into the College Football Playoff.
It’s not a crazy goal. The Rebels came within one victory of tasting such reality this season. How he recruits and dispenses what is said to be a growing NIL collective will help define how much Mullen can win. The coaching part is already proven. He won more than 100 games in the SEC. Enough said.
“UNLV got incredibly lucky,” Saccenti said. “They got one of the best football coaches in the country. He’s passionate. He loves his coaches and players. He is committed. He’s going to come here and do great things for UNLV and the community.
“This town is going to go nuts for him. We love winners. Barry got the program in a good spot. Dan has a lot of work to do to make sure he keeps it going, but it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Others called the past few years, but Mullen wasn’t interested. Hey, TV isn’t that bad a gig. But when it was UNLV this time, something inside him stirred. The itch. He was immediately excited about the opportunity, unlike those which came before.
He knew what Odom had built. He knew the possibilities.
Hear them roar
“This is a great place, a special place, a place you can win championships at,” Mullen said. “We can recruit to this. We have everything we need.
“I’ve always thought of UNLV as a sleeping giant. Coach Odom started to wake that giant.”
Which means the sound of planes Friday wasn’t the only roar heard around the Fertitta Football Complex.
Dan Mullen is sure he can continue what has been started.
Winning is all that matters, of course.
That part will never change, no matter who roams the sidelines.
Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at [email protected]. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on X.
