BREAKING: Purdue Close to Naming a Head Coach

By Mark Pszonak

With the transfer portal officially opening tomorrow, every school that doesn’t have a head coach is working overtime to find one. Purdue is very close to accomplishing this, with a decision likely coming today.

This had been rumored during the last 24 hours and the noise got louder when UCF hired Scott Frost. Now it seems close to being finalized:

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.

Odom went 19-8 in two seasons in Las Vegas and was 25-25 at Missouri before that.

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 8, 2024

With UNLV losing to Boise State on Friday night, Coach Barry Odom had the opportunity to focus on his future. And while he was linked to a couple of jobs, Purdue became the most realistic during the last 24 hours.

This is a good hire for the Boilermakers. While he was fired after four seasons at Missouri in 2019, his 25-25 record with the Tigers was admirable. But what he has accomplished in two seasons at UNLV is nothing short of a miracle. He led the Rebels to consecutive appearances in the Mountain West championship game, earned back-to-back bowl games, achieved the first 10-win season since 1984 and grabbed the first ever AP Top 25 ranking for the program.

Purdue isn’t an easy job, and he will need to be active and successful in this transfer portal window to bring improvement to West Lafayette during the 2025 season. But Boilermaker fans should be hopeful that this happens.