To hire former SEC football coach Dan Mullen, UNLV made him the highest-paid coach in program and Mountain West conference history.
Mullen signed a five-year deal worth $3.5 million per year to become UNLV’s new coach, according to the contract released by the university Monday.
The 52-year-old was announced as Barry Odom’s replacement on Thursday, following Odom’s departure to take over at Purdue. Mullen’s annual salary doubles Odom’s pay this season.
Mullen, who has 13 years of head coaching experience at Mississippi State and Florida, earned $7.5 million in his last year with the Gators and received a $12 million payout when he was fired during the 2021 season. He spent the past three years working as a college football analyst for ESPN and ABC.
“We had the pleasure of speaking to many qualified candidates from around the nation. However, from all these established current and former coaches, there was one name that continued to come up,” UNLV athletic Erick Harper said during Mullen’s formal introduction Friday. “Watching him on TV each and every week, I always thought, ‘If there is a chance, I’m going all-in on this guy.’ And it worked.”
Harper wasn’t bluffing.
Mullen’s deal surpasses the six-year, $2.1 million-per-year contract that former New Mexico coach Bronco Mendenhall signed to join Utah State and become the conference’s highest-paid coach for a brief stint Dec. 5.
Colorado State’s Jay Norvell made $1.8 million this season.
Maybe the best illustration of UNLV’s investment in football is that Mullen will make more than the salaries of UNR football coach Jeff Choate, his 10 assistants and his strength coach combined ($3.2 million this season).
This comes after Odom earned a package of $1.75 million this season with the Rebels before incentives. The former UNLV coach will make at least $6 million per year in his first two seasons with the Boilermakers.
Just like Harper had his eye on Mullen, the new UNLV coach once kept tabs on Odom.
“I’ve known (Odom) a long time,” Mullen said Friday. “We actually had the same financial adviser for a while, which is pretty funny.”
Mullen’s contract is structured similarly to Odom’s, with the base salary listed at $400,000 per year. But the additional $3.1 million annually will come from “media and public appearances,” which are essentially built into the job.
Buyout details
The buyout if Mullen leaves for another school is substantial.
If Mullen were to leave UNLV for the NFL or a Power Four school before December 2025, he’ll owe UNLV $7 million. That buyout decreases by $1 million per year through the end of the contract. The same is true if Mullen accepts a job outside of a major conference, only the buyout starts at $5 million before decreasing.
The terms of a buyout in Odom’s contract dropped from $4 million to $3 million if he left UNLV for a Power Four school or the NFL before Dec. 1, 2024.
Bonuses
Mullen stands to earn plenty of standard bonuses with the Rebels as well.
Remaining with UNLV for two years will trigger a retention bonus of $100,000 to be paid in March 2027. The 2028 and 2029 bonuses are $200,000.
Odom claimed the Mountain West Coach of the Year award and led the Rebels to the Mountain West championship game in his first season.
For Mullen, those feats would be rewarded with separate $25,000 bonuses. There’s an extra $50,000 on the table if Mullen can bring UNLV its first Mountain West title in program history.
A bowl appearance is worth $75,000, per Mullen’s contract, but the new coach has his sights set much higher.
“(Odom) has gotten this program aligned in the right direction, and I’m excited to continue that,” Mullen said. “The next step is to go win that conference championship. The next step is to go take our stage in the College Football Playoff.”
A CFP appearance would entitle Mullen to another $100,000.
Contact Callie Fin at [email protected]. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.
