Report: Purdue Hiring Barry Odom as Next Football Coach
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Purdue has hired Barry Odom to be the next football coach, according to a report from Yahoo's Ross Dellenger. The news comes a week after the Boilermakers fired Ryan Walters.
Odom spent the last two seasons at UNLV, leading the Rebels to a 19-8 record, which included a 12-3 mark in Mountain West play. On Friday night, UNLV played in the Mountain West Championship Game, falling to Boise State 21-7.
UNLV posted a 10-3 record this year. In Odom's first year, the Rebels went 9-5.
Purdue is targeting UNLV’s Barry Odom to be its next head coach, sources tell @YahooSports. The deal is not finalized, but the sides are working towards an agreement.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 8, 2024
Odom went 19-8 in two seasons in Las Vegas and was 25-25 at Missouri before that.
Odom also has head coaching experience at Missouri, where he led the program from 2016-19. In those four seasons, he guided the Tigers to a 25-25 record and a 13-19 mark in SEC play.
Most of Odom's background comes from the defensive side of the football. He began coaching safeties at Missouri from 2009-11 and later became the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Memphis from 2012-14.
Purdue is coming off one of the worst seasons in program history, finishing with a 1-11 record. Clearly, athletic director Mike Bobinski believes Odom is the one who can get things turned around in West Lafayette.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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