Our Virginia Tech head coach candidate breakdown series continues as we go through many potential Virginia Tech head coach candidates. Today, we're going to take a look at one of the best available head coaches currently among the Group of 5 ranks. You can check out our other candidate breakdowns at the links below.
Dan Mullen is the bounce-back coach who has taken a step down to the G5 ranks and proven he still has it at UNLV this season. He also has Power 4 pedigree that only James Franklin could match or exceed as a candidate given his 69-46 record at Mississippi State and 34-15 record at Florida. That type of proven head coach isn't available too often and the fact that he was fired at Florida previously rules him out for one of the two open jobs that is unequivocally better than Virginia Tech.
Of course, there's always some risk with a retread hire that they simply may be on the decline in their coaching abilities. Personally, I think the 53-year old Mullen has shown at UNLV so far that he has a lot of gas left in the tank and some of his best coaching years are likely ahead.
So with that said, let's dive into my positives and concerns for Dan Mullen.
Positives
Proven Winner at the Power 4 Level and in the New Era
Dan Mullen's record is undeniable from all three stops on his head coaching career so far.
Let's start at Mississippi State where he is the only coach to lead the Bulldogs in more than 20 games and win at least 60% of his games since 1950. A Mississippi State coaching great in Jackie Sherrill was .500 in his tenure while Mike Leach won around 54% of his games in what many would say was a solid tenure. Mullen also led the Bulldogs to three 9+ win seasons and a No. 1 ranking in the first every CFB Playoff rankings. To do that at one of the toughest jobs in the SEC is a tremendous accomplishment.
His Florida tenure may have ended with a firing but his record prior to the 2021 season, his fourth at the helm of the Gators, was quite good. Mullen opened his tenure with back-to-back seasons with 10+ wins before going 8-2 against an all SEC schedule in 2020 and reaching the conference title game. He's also one of three coaches in Florida history to have multiple 10+ win seasons and three finishes in the top 12 of the final top 25 along with Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer. While his tenure didn't end well, his stint in Gainesville was the best that Florida has had since Meyer.
