By Missy Grimes
WEST LAFAYETTE – Purdue Football has its leader for the 2025 season and beyond. Guiding one of the greatest resurgences in college football over the past two seasons, Barry Odom has been named the new head football coach of the Purdue Boilermakers, as announced by executive vice president and director of athletics Mike Bobinski.
Fresh off steering UNLV Football to its winningest season in 40 years, Odom has compiled an impressive list of accomplishments throughout his coaching career, which includes stints as a head coach in both the Southeastern Conference with Missouri (2016-19) and the Mountain West Conference with the Rebels (2023-24). UNLV has totaled 19 wins during Odom’s time guiding the Rebels, making it the winningest two-year stretch in the school’s history as a Division I program. As a head coach, he has secured four postseason appearances in six seasons, including two (2017 Texas Bowl, 2018 Liberty Bowl) bowl bids at Missouri.
“This is an exciting day as we announce head coach Barry Odom as the new leader of the Purdue Boilermakers,” said Bobinski. “As both a leader and person, Coach Odom personifies the qualities that our football program and university value. During our interactions with Coach Odom, it became clear that he possesses the belief, tenacity and competitive drive necessary to return Purdue Football to the standard of excellence we all expect. He is a proven and experienced leader who has brought success to two different football programs and has made an impact on the lives of countless student-athletes and staff throughout his football career, including during his time as a standout defensive coordinator and position coach at Missouri, Memphis and Arkansas.
“We are thrilled to welcome Barry, his wife Tia, and children JT, Garyt and Anna, to the Boilermaker family. Our entire department is prepared to fully support Coach Odom in the transition to Purdue, as he meets with our current student-athletes, assembles his coaching staff and begins the process of building a successful football program.”
Odom, 48, becomes the 38th head coach in the history of Purdue Football, coming to West Lafayette following what could be considered the most impressive gridiron campaign in UNLV’s school history. The Rebels reached double-digit wins for only the third time in program history (1974, 1984), with both previous seasons predating the program’s move up to Division I competition and the Mountain West Conference, respectively. National recognition has followed, as the Rebels have achieved a program-best No. 19 ranking in both the AP and Coaches polls, as well as their first-ever CFP ranking.
“It is with tremendous honor and gratitude that I accept this opportunity to serve as the head football coach at Purdue University,” said Odom. “To coach at an institution like Purdue, in a community like Greater Lafayette and for a proud, tradition-rich and hungry football program like the Boilermakers is a dream come true for me and my family. I would like to thank Mike Bobinski for choosing me to lead Purdue Football, as well as extend my heartful thanks to University President Mung Chiang and Board Chair Mike Berghoff for their support. Their trust will be rewarded with a football program that will reflect the personality and excellence that Purdue is widely known for; character, intensity and a no-excuses winning attitude will be the foundation of what we will build at Purdue, and I can assure you it will be built to last. Most of all, my family cannot wait to become Boilermakers. We will get started in West Lafayette immediately.”
For his head coaching career, Odom possesses a 44-32 overall record. His 19-8 mark with the Rebels bears significance in that the five seasons prior to his arrival (2017-22), UNLV won just 20 games. Impressively, his UNLV teams posted a 10-2 mark in true road games after the program only won eight total road games in the previous six seasons (8-25).
In just two seasons, Odom dramatically changed expectations in Las Vegas, with UNLV twice advancing to the MWC Championship Game after the program had not made a single appearance in the event prior to his arrival. Following Odom’s first campaign in Las Vegas (9-5, 6-2 MWC), he was named the 2023 Mountain West Coach of the Year. He also earned distinction as the program’s first-ever Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award finalist. The 2023 season culminated in an appearance in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona.
Odom’s adept tutelage saw three Rebels earn All-America status, and the program christened its first-ever First Team Academic All-American after the 2023 season. Back-to-back seasons of six First Team All-MWC honorees for the Rebels have occurred, including a school-record 12 combined recognitions between the conference’s first and second teams in 2024. Incoming Rebels have seen a boost in notoriety, as well, with Odom’s 2025 signees ranking as the top class in the Mountain West.
Odom has also spent impactful tenures as a highly regarded defensive coordinator at Memphis (2012-14), Missouri (2015) and Arkansas (2020-22). For the Razorbacks, Odom served as associate head coach, defensive coordinator and safeties coach. His 2021 defense turned heads, as it allowed just 22.9 points per game – 12 points fewer per game than in 2020 and the fewest for an Arkansas defense since 2014. Focusing on the run defense, the unit evolved to allow just 153.9 yards per game, the fewest for Arkansas since 2015. Under Odom’s watch, Arkansas’ 18 takeaways during the 2020 campaign ranked 25th nationally. The Razorbacks’ 13 interceptions were second most in the SEC and 13th most in the FBS.
During his first defensive coordinator job at Memphis in 2012, he transformed the Tigers into a defensive power. In 2014, his defense ranked fifth nationally in scoring defense (17.1 points per game) and 22nd nationally in total defense (343.3 yards per game) to help the Tigers go 10-3. That marked an incredible turnaround for a Memphis team that ranked 117th in total defense prior to his arrival. The program improved defensively each year under Odom, rising from 50th nationally in total defense in 2012 to 39th in 2013 to 22nd in his final year.
Before moving to Fayetteville, Odom spent four seasons as Missouri’s head coach, taking two of his teams to bowl games and finishing at .500 or better three times en route to building an overall record of 25-25 from 2016-19. His 2018 Missouri squad finished the regular season ranked 23rd in the College Football Playoff poll.
Regarded among the coaching fraternity for his steadfast pathway to the top, Odom was promoted to the head coaching role at Missouri following the retirement of Gary Pinkel, whom he worked for in numerous capacities while on staff at Missouri in two separate stints. From 2003-2011, Odom served as graduate assistant, director of recruiting, director of football operations and safeties coach for the Tigers. Upon returning from his three seasons at Memphis, Odom served as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 2015 before his promotion ahead of the 2016 season.
Odom was born in Lawton, Oklahoma, and raised in Maysville, Oklahoma. He was a four-year letterwinner at linebacker for Missouri from 1996-99, helping the school make two bowl trips and serving as team captain during his senior season. He ended his MU career ranked in the program’s all-time top 10 with 362 tackles.
Odom graduated from Missouri in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in education and earned his master’s in education from the school in 2004. He and his wife, Tia, have two sons, JT and Garyt, and a daughter, Anna.
Odom will be introduced at a welcome event on Tuesday morning (Dec. 10) at Mackey Arena. The event will be open to the public with doors opening at 8:30 a.m. ET before the introduction begins at 9 a.m. ET. Parking will be open around the arena and Ross-Ade Stadium.
Boilermaker fans – get ready for the Odom Era at Ross-Ade Stadium! Season ticket renewals and new sales are in progress.
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