Purdue hires UNLV’s Barry Odom as its next football coach

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The Purdue Boilermakers are giving UNLV coach Barry Odom a second chance to lead a Power Four program.

Athletic director Mike Bobinski announced Sunday that he hired the 48-year-old Odom to replace Ryan Walters, who was fired last week after compiling a 5-19 record in two seasons in West Lafayette, Indiana.

"As both a leader and person, coach Odom personifies the qualities our football program and university value," Bobinski said in a statement. "During our interactions with coach Odom, it became clear that he possesses the belief, tenacity and competitive drive necessary to return Purdue football to the standard of excellence we all expect.

Odom went 19-8 in two seasons with UNLV after going 25-25 in his previous head coaching stint at Missouri from 2016-19.

With the Rebels, though, Odom’s wide-open offense reached back-to-back Mountain West Conference championship games. They lost each time to Boise State.

This season, Odom’s team was 14th in the FBS in scoring offense (36.2 points per game) as it posted UNLV’s best record (10-3) in 40 years.

That should excite fans at a school dubbed the "Cradle of Quarterbacks" after a historically bad season.

Purdue struggled to an 1-11 mark, endured the two worst losses in school history and scored just 15.8 points per game - the second-lowest average of any Power Four school.

"Their trust will be rewarded with a football program that will reflect the personality and excellence Purdue is widely known for - character, intensity and a no-excuses winning attitude," Odom said. "I can assure you it will be built to last."

Odom has lots of experience, most of it coming at Missouri, his alma mater.

The former college linebacker served as a graduate assistant for the Tigers in 2003, recruiting coordinator in 2004 and 2005, director of football operations from 2006-08 and safeties coach from 2009-11.

After spending three seasons as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Memphis and one more in the same capacity at Missouri in 2015, the Tigers promoted Odom to head coach in 2016. In an odd twist, Walters served as either co-defensive coordinator or defensive coordinator for all four seasons of Odom’s tenure at Missouri.

Odum spent the next three seasons as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at Arkansas before he was hired in 2023 by UNLV.