‘A hard day for everyone’: UNLV football coach leaves for Big Ten

Barry Odom’s impact was on full display Sunday at the Fertitta Football Complex, but he was nowhere to be seen.

After serving as the architect of previously unimaginable UNLV football success for two seasons, Odom is leaving Las Vegas to become the coach at Purdue.

The Big Ten school in West Lafayette, Indiana, announced the news Sunday morning. The confirmation came minutes before Odom and his players were scheduled to speak at a news conference announcing the Rebels’ selection to play in the LA Bowl against California on Dec. 18 at Inglewood, California.

Odom never showed up, and reporters had already seen some of his players leave as they arrived. Once the news conference began an hour later than scheduled, UNLV athletic director Erick Harper approached the dais and explained that he had just met with the team to discuss Odom’s departure.

“Let me start by giving my sincere thanks to Barry Odom for everything he did during his two seasons here at UNLV,” Harper said. “This is a hard day for everyone, as you can imagine. … We will look to continue a championship-caliber team each and every season, as our fan base has embraced the new era of success for Rebel football.”

The Odom era saw UNLV go 19-8, earn its first appearance in the national rankings, draw its largest crowds in program history and make back-to-back Mountain West championship games. The Rebels lost 21-7 to Boise State in the conference title game Friday, causing them to miss out on a berth in the College Football Playoff.

Now, they will make UNLV’s first back-to-back bowl game appearance without the man who helped get them there. Wide receivers coach Del Alexander will serve as the Rebels’ interim coach for the game.

Odom did not mention UNLV in a statement issued by Purdue.

Odom, then a defensive coordinator at Arkansas, was hired to replace Marcus Arroyo in December 2022. Harper noted that the process to hire him took only 10 days, and he wants to beat that timeline this time around because the transfer portal — the pathway for players to leave for other programs — opens Monday.

Two UNLV players — freshman running back Greg Burrell and senior defensive back Tony Grimes — said Sunday they planned to enter the portal.

‘Deep pocket’

Harper said last week he thought Odom was happy in Las Vegas, but that it was important for the coach to feel “love and respect and admiration” from everyone.

When reminded of those comments Sunday, Harper said “people change,” and circumstances do, too.

“Barry knows he knew how important it was and how much we wanted him to stay here,” Harper said. “But at the same time, the opportunity he has to go to Purdue in the Big Ten was something that he chose to not pass up.”

Harper laughed when asked if UNLV attempted to counter Purdue’s offer.

“That’s a hard number to reach, but we did look at it in full detail,” he said. “But the Big Ten, they’ve got a big deep pocket.”

Harper declined to share the number, saying he would wait for it to come out later.

Odom’s base salary at UNLV was $1.75 million. He signed an extension in April that runs through the 2028 season.

UNLV is owed a $3 million buyout from Purdue, based on that contract extension.

Purdue parted ways with coach Ryan Walters on Dec. 1. Walters had a base salary of $4 million this year, which saw the Boilermakers go 1-11 and 0-9 in Big Ten play.

‘Built to last’

Harper said he met with Odom regularly throughout the season, as he does with other UNLV coaches. Despite those conversations, Harper said the team’s success led him to expect that another team would make an offer that Odom couldn’t refuse.

Odom has “been 1,000 percent professional in his approach with me, and and I give him all respect to being a professional and keeping me informed of what was happening over the last 24 hours,” Harper said.

Odom had changed his X.com bio to his new title as Purdue coach before Harper even began his remarks.

The former UNLV coach said in a statement issued by Purdue that he accepted the position with “tremendous honor and gratitude.”

“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,” Odom said.

He added that the trust Purdue leadership paid to him will be “rewarded” with a football program reflective of its university.

“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,” he said. “Most of all, my family cannot wait to become Boilermakers. We will get started in West Lafayette immediately.”

Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski welcomed Odom in a statement, calling it an “exciting day” and expressing high expectations for the 38th head coach in Purdue history.

“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,” Bobinksi said.

Seeking ‘proven success’

No formal interviews have taken place for Odom’s replacement, but Harper said he had received more phone calls Sunday than he could “count on 10 fingers.”

The group of interested parties he described includes current and former head coaches, offensive and defensive coordinators and NFL personnel.

“Odom and his staff have made this an extremely attractive job,” Harper said. “We’re going to go in the war room and do all of our due diligence, as we did two years ago.”

The criteria: “Proven success,” as the jump from coordinator to head coach requires significant adjustment, Harper said.

“Somebody that’s just a flat-out ball coach that wants to win, win at a high level, and also be a molder and a mentor to young men,” he added.

To avoid a total rebuild and retain some talent, it would stand to reason that UNLV would consider offensive coordinator Brennan Marion, who notably removed mentions of UNLV on all of his social media profiles Sunday.

When asked if Marion is a candidate as Odom’s replacement, Harper said everyone is being considered, later adding that he hadn’t spoken with Marion.

Alexander was a member of two previous UNLV staffs before going on to coach two decades in the Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC, as well as Notre Dame. He returned to UNLV in 2023.

Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.