Better Than Barry? UNLV Football Head Coach Pay Raise
This year was an absolute standout for the UNLV Rebels Football program. The team was ranked for the first time, a buzz saw for most of the year and while the fairy tale ended in a pumpkin in Idaho, it was a great step. Until UNLV Football head coach Barry Odom decided to leave for a higher paying gig with Purdue. We couldn’t afford him.
But it appears as though they found some extra cash in their couch cushions, and new UNLV Football head coach Dan Mullen is going to see more than Barry did during his tenure. Considerably more.
UNLV Football Head Coach Pay Raise Makes Team More Competitive
There are two big draws for a coach to leave Las Vegas. Money and spotlight. Right now, UNLV Rebels Football plays in the Mountain West conference. The conference is not necessarily known for being the top of the heap when it comes to college football. That explains the exodus the conference has seen in recent months. But, for better or worse, UNLV is staying in the conference.
Then there is the small issue of money. When word got around that Barry Odom was going to more than triple his pay – from $1.75 million a year at UNLV to $6 million a year at Purdue – you couldn’t blame him. While a school doesn’t want to have their football coach as the highest paid public employee, when you saw flashes of greatness in the UNLV football program, you want to do what it takes to keep it relevant.
So incoming UNLV Football head coach Dan Mullen, with his experience coaching the Florida Gators and Mississippi State programs, will be benefitting from the newfound thirst for winning. His five year deal is twice as much as the outgoing Barry Odom was making: $3.5 million a year.
Still A Massive Pay Cut For Mullen
While Dan Mullen is going to be making bank, it doesn’t hold a candle to what he was making with the Florida Gators. His final season with Florida had him making $7.5 million. Meanwhile University of Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is making nearly $13.3 million a year as head coach of their program.
So while the university is shelling out more bucks for the UNLV Football head coach, it still ranks among the lowest for Division 1 college football.
