Purdue Football Considering UNLV's Barry Odom for Head Coach Position

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Purdue Boilermakers are in the process of selecting their next head football coach.

According to sources, athletic director Mike Bobinski is pursuing Barry Odom, the current head coach at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), to take over after Ryan Walters was let go.

Purdue is currently negotiating contract details with Odom. While nothing has been finalized, the team aims to complete the deal by Sunday night or Monday.

Officials from Purdue have reportedly traveled to Las Vegas to discuss the agreement.

Odom has achieved a commendable 19-8 record over his last two seasons with UNLV and has led the Rebels to back-to-back appearances in the Mountain West Championship game. However, they lost to Boise State 21-7 in this year's title match. With a season record of 10-3, UNLV is now awaiting a bowl selection after their previous loss to Kansas in last season's Guaranteed Rate Bowl.

Before his tenure at UNLV, Odom spent four seasons coaching the Missouri Tigers in the Southeastern Conference. He was dismissed after accumulating a 25-25 record during his time there, with his final season ending at 6-6 and two bowl appearances within those four years.

Odom would be stepping in for Walters, who struggled with a 5-19 record over two seasons at Purdue. Walters was dismissed following a shutout loss against rival Indiana last weekend and concluded this season with just one win out of twelve games.

If the deal gets done, it will be a moment of irony in Walters and Odom’s careers. They both were on staff at Missouri together. When Odom was promoted to the Tigers’ head coach in 2016, Walters got a promotion of his own, replacing Odom as defensive coordinator. The two served on staff together until Odom was fired in 2019. Now five years later, Odom would be replacing Walters.

An official announcement from Purdue is anticipated within the next 24-36 hours.