Barry Odom’s success at UNLV is potentially leading him to another head coaching job in a power conference.
Sources told Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger that Odom is in line to be the next head coach at Purdue. UNLV went 10-3 in 2024 when Odom will replace Ryan Walters after a 1-11 season for the Boilermakers.
Purdue targets UNLV’s Barry Odom as its next head coach, sources say @YahooSports. The deal is not closed, but the parties are working to reach an agreement.
Odom was 19-8 in two seasons in Las Vegas and before that was 25-25 at Missouri.
—Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 8, 2024
Odom has been at UNLV for two seasons and the Rebels are 19-8 in that time. He got the job with the Rebels after spending time at Arkansas as the Razorbacks’ defensive coordinator. Odom joined Arkansas after a four-year stint as Missouri’s head coach.
Odom was Mizzou’s coach from 2016 to 2019. The Tigers went 4-8 in his first season, but went bowl games in each of his last three seasons. Odom was fired at the end of the 2019 regular season after the Tigers finished 6-6.
The former Missouri linebacker inherits a huge rebuilding job with the Boilermakers. Purdue was perhaps the worst power conference team in college football last season. The Boilermakers’ only win came against an FCS opponent and they were outscored by an average of 40-16 over the course of the season. The team was shut out three times, including the season-ending 66-0 loss to Indiana, and lost five of its nine conference games by 35 points or more.
The Rebels had a chance to make the College Football Playoff with a win over Boise State on Friday night, but lost 21-7 to the Broncos. The 2024 season was the first 10-win campaign since UNLV went 11-2 under Harvey Hyde in 1984 and the offense didn’t miss a beat when QB Hajj-Malik Williams replaced Matthew Sluka three games after Sluka left. the team. team for what he said were broken NIL promises.