Darth Mullen's space explorations from the desert

Dan Mullen is still only 54 years old.

I think on that sometimes when considering the marketplace for coaches. He’s not currently a hot commodity after getting labeled as a lazy recruiter at Florida. Coaches who don’t have tons of energy and organizational skill are generally a poor fit for modern college football. The demands of balancing all these transfer rules, NIL negotiations, and the need to evaluate the high school and college scene for potential talent will burn through the energy of all but the best delegators.

But Mullen went to UNLV last year and immediately took them to 10-4 with the 44th ranked FEI offense in the country. He inherited an 11-3 team from Barry Odom, but he also elevated the offense and did so with transfer quarterback Anthony Colandrea, who used his time with Mullen as a springboard to Nebraska.

“Darth Mullen,” as I like to call him…

…has long been one of the best spread offensive minds in the game of football. Urban Meyer singled him out from their time together at Bowling Green, Utah, and Florida for his unique understanding of the geometry and angles of the game. Mullen justified that praise later on when he built the 2020 Florida Gators offense, one of the best spread passing attacks I’ve seen in a long time, which gave the National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide a tougher challenge in the SEC title game than either of their eventual playoff opponents (Notre Dame and Ohio State).

Mullen took three years off after being fired from Florida to work the booth before getting back into coaching at UNLV last year. I doubt he stays there long, especially if he can work his magic again this coming season. Let’s take a glimpse at what sort of Death Star technology he’s been working on out in the desert away from prying eyes.

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