Former UNLV Rebels Coach Barry Odom Looks To Repeat History And Turn Around Purdue Boilermakers

Former UNLV Rebels football coach Barry Odom has taken on another program that needs a complete overhaul from the ground up. He left the Rebels this offseason to take on a Power 4 conference challenge. What he did in Las Vegas was incredible, and the program would be nowhere near where it is today had it not been for him. Odom will now look to repeat the same success with the Purdue Boilermakers. In 2024, Purdue finished in last place in the Big 10 with a 0 - 9 conference record to go along with a 1 -11 record overall. Their only win came against Indiana State.

While Purdue does have more of a winning history than UNLV did, rebuilding the program will be no small task. Experts and analysts around college football can't help but draw comparisons to his first year at Purdue and his first year with the Rebels. He took a floundering program in the Mountain West Conference and now left them coming off back-to-back conference championship game appearances, and an enticing job for a big-time coach like Dan Mullen. If you listen to his approach to his new job, the parallels to when he joined the Rebels are undeniable.

Barry Odom On Building Purdue Like He Did UNLV

“We’ll be defined by what we do,” Odom said. “If we take the approach from the day that we got the job, every single day our approach is you get up and make Purdue football better and you find a way to consistently instill those habits in everyone around in the organization. Then by the time that the season rolls around, we’ll be ready to be the best versions of ourselves... From the day that we got the job, every single day, our approach is you get up and you make Purdue football better. You find a way to consistently instill those habits in everyone around the organization. Then by the time that the season rolls around, we’ll be ready to be the best versions of ourselves.” 

While losing Odom was tough at the time for the UNLV faithful, the program has been left in very capable hands with a much brighter future than they had when he took the job. His tenure could have a lasting impact on the school beyond measure. Rebels fans should be forever grateful for the job he did and the risk he took, taking on a job that not many people saw the potential in.

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