Barry Odom’s promise: Purdue football's rebound ‘going to happen very, very quickly’
As Purdue introduced its new head football coach, Tuesday provided quotes you can circle for future reference.
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BARRY ODOM’S PROMISE: PURDUE FOOTBALL’S REBOUND ‘GOING TO HAPPEN VERY, VERY QUICKLY’
Barry Odom, in West Lafayette fresh from UNLV and standing in front of a Mackey Arena scoreboard emblazoned with his name and face as Purdue’s new football coach, told hundreds of Boiler fans looking for promises of a rebuilt program to expect a turnaround sooner, not later.
“Ultimately, the goal is to win a championship, playing meaningful games in November, chasing a Big Ten title and everything that comes after that,” Odom said Tuesday morning, moments after Athletic Director Mike Bobinski gave a Purdue jersey – No. 1 – and the assignment to make Saturday’s at Ross-Ade Stadium matter, again.
“We're going to build a championship team,” Odom said, “and it's going to happen very, very quickly.”
Tuesday morning, coming nine days after second-year coach Ryan Walters was fired at the end of a 1-11 season peppered with historically lopsided results, was full of promises and hopes meant to be circled and referenced a year, two years, a career later at Ross-Ade.
“Coach Odom,” Purdue President Mung Chiang said, “let’s go winning.”
Here’s some of what was said by way of introduction, both in the public session and during a follow-up press conference, some of what you can circle for future reference.
From Barry Odom
Odom, a former linebacker at Missouri, had a head coaching position at his alma mater – where he went 25-25 with two bowl appearances from 2016-19 – before going 19-8 in two seasons at UNLV. He joins a Purdue program that went 5-19 under Walters.
On the university: “We know what is the fabric of this community. We know what the fabric of this great university is, and we're excited to be a huge part of that on making sure that we do our job to put Purdue football on the national stage every single week as we get started building this program.”
On the job: “When this job came open, I had always looked at it as one of the elite jobs in college football for a number of reasons – the academic prestige with this university; the geographic location on the ability to recruit and attract high level student athletes that are aligned with the visions of hard work with character, with vision; and then the ability to compete in the Big Ten Conference, which is obviously the strongest conference in all of college football.”
On the past: Odom referenced past coaches Joe Tiller and Jeff Brohm, and Purdue’s reputation as the Cradle of Quarterbacks and Den of Defensive Ends. To former players at Purdue, Odom said, “the doors will be open for you, and I'm going to do a great job on representing what you have built here.”
On the current team: Odom looked at roughly three dozen players who filled some of the Mackey Arena seats in front of the stage, telling them “you better not be missing a final.”
“We’ve got work to do,” Odom said. “I think collectively, together, things are aligned here. It's going to be a quick turnaround. I do not believe in rebuild projects. I believe in getting the best out of the program and the guys that we have right now and winning immediately. …
“I believe for them, we’re going to build it early on – on hope, vision and belief – and then there's going to be some validation. And then they're going to look back at it as the most rewarding athletic experience that they've ever been through.”

On his style of football: “We're going to be very, very explosive on offense. We're going to score points. I'm labeled as a defensive guy, but if you look at my history on the offensive coordinators that we've had, the progress that we've made on that side of the ball, we're going to be explosive. We're going to play complementary football. And then on defense, we're going to be a very, very tough, aggressive, attacking defense. … Hard, smart, tough, disciplined brand of football.”
From Athletic Director Mike Bobinski
On what he was looking for in a new coach, after narrowing the field of candidates: “The most important thing at that point is to determine who truly has the passion to be here at Purdue – to do our job. Who has a vision for success at Purdue? Not what it's like to win at Alabama or Texas, but to win here at Purdue. And a commitment and a belief in what's possible here at Purdue. It’s very similar to recruiting. We've learned this in every sport that we have. When you bring young people to Purdue that are truly committed to the place and want the full Purdue experience, that's when we have our greatest success. We can't ever talk anybody into it and think we're going to land in a great place. We're going to have people that have a burning desire and a passion to be here. Once this process began, it was clear that one coach stood out above all when it came to having that desire to be at Purdue.”
On Odom: “He brings a very unique combination of an old school, traditional football, toughness and mindset with ability to operate and adapt to today's college football environment. … Coach Odom has proved that in living color here these last couple of years at UNLV, in doing so at a place that didn't have a tradition of success. The style of play will be one that I think will really be welcome here at Purdue. It will be a tough, hard-nosed, disciplined football team. When we take the field, no one will play harder than we will, and I think that's exactly what Purdue people look for. …
“This is a really good job. It's not an easy job. Big Ten is no joke. It's 18 teams and all competing really, really aggressively to be great. This is going to require somebody that's willing to roll up their sleeves and get after it each and every day.”
From Purdue President Mung Chiang
Chiang said Purdue was prepared “to invest more than ever before in athletics.”
In this case, Odom will get a six-year contract that starts at $6 million a year. In his third year, the salary will step up to $6.25 million. By the sixth year, it would be worth $7.25 million.
Walters would have made $4.1 million in 2025. He had a buyout of more than $9 million for the three years remaining on his contract.
“Boilermakers are hungry for success and excellence in everything that we choose to do,” Chiang said. “We have the hunger for success in football. … Boilermakers will always have the grit to fight, to come back and to win.”
From Mike Berghoff, Purdue trustee chair
Berghoff was in on the search for the new coach. He promised fans and students who continued to come to Ross-Ade during the past season that things would get better.
“I want to acknowledge the impact that you all have had with our football program,” Berghoff said. “Your attendance at the games as ticket holders and as students has been incredible, especially in a year that wasn't going the way we want. Nothing changed. The place was full. And it was full of excitement. I'm going to tell you that you're going to be rewarded next year.”
OTHER READS: PURDUE’S FOOTBALL HIRE
For more, including the Xs and Os from the beat reporters, here are a few more reads.
From Gold and Black’s Tom Dienhart: “Barry Odom isn’t afraid of the Purdue job. Where others see challenges, he sees opportunities. He knows what this job can be. That’s why he has embraced this chance to come to West Lafayette and flip the script on the last two seasons.” For more: “Five observations from Purdue football coach Barry Odom's opening press conference.”
From IndyStar reporter Nathan Baird: “Why Purdue AD Mike Bobinski picked Barry Odom for a coaching hire he cannot get wrong.”
From Gold and Black reporter Brian Neubert on Odom’s introduction Tuesday: “There weren’t a lot of applause lines Tuesday morning; this was more about business than anything. There were few promises, no outlandish claims. There were no best systems in the country cited, nor were any rivals accused of sucking. There were no fake accents, nor would any really have applied. There wasn’t even a whole lot of style. For a guy who just left Vegas, Odom didn’t look it, dressed in a grey (charcoal?) suit and tan-ish tie, no frills. No particular style. There are general scripts every new coach typically sticks to at these introductions and Odom hit all the requisite bases, but didn’t do a whole lot of preening. Nothing flashy, just a humble, authentic-seeming, salt-of-the-earth type of persona.” Always a good read here: “Takeaways: New football coach Barry Odom's introduction at Purdue.”
J&C reporter Sam King had this on the next steps: “When will we know who fills out new head coach Barry Odom's Purdue football staff?”
Nathan Baird had more on the contract: “How much is Purdue paying new football coach Barry Odom?”
On the early transfer portal/recruiting news, this is from Baird, too: “Purdue football's Barry Odom flips two UNLV recruits, including his 3-star QB son.”
From the J&C’s Ethan Hanson, a recruiting angle: “Newly hired Purdue football coach Barry Odom had a strong reputation among top high school football coaches in Indiana long before being paid to revive the Boilermakers beleaguered program. Here’s the rest: “What do Indiana football coaches think of Purdue hire of Barry Odom?”
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