WVU's List Shrinks as Barry Odom is Set to Take Purdue Head Coaching Job

One name can officially be crossed off Wren Baker's list.

Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

West Virginia has interviewed a dozen or so candidates for the football head coaching vacancy, one of which is about to be no longer in contention for the job. According to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports, the Purdue Boilermakers are "working towards an agreement" with UNLV's Barry Odom.

Odom has a connection with WVU AD Wren Baker, having worked together at Missouri for a short period of time. He has helped turn around a struggling UNLV program in a short two years, winning 19 of his 27 games and coaching his team to the Mountain West Conference title game this season.

With Odom set to become the next lead man at Purdue, West Virginia's search will likely focus on Jacksonville State's Rich Rodriguez, Tulane's Jon Sumrall, and Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, among others. WVU did have serious interest in Odom, but as noted in our stock report article this morning, his chances of coming to Morgantown dwindled over the last few days.

A decision from athletic director Wren Baker is expected to be made in the next few days.

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