Purdue football is off to a nightmare start to the 2024 season. After losing three of their first four games, head coach Ryan Walters and the Boilermakers felt they needed to make a change and fired offensive coordinator Graham Harrell. Offensive analyst Jason Simmons is going to take over the play-calling for Walters and company, according to Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.

“Purdue offensive analyst Jason Simmons will take over offensive play-calling duties following the firing of Graham Harrell, coach Ryan Walters said,” Rittenberg reported on X, formerly Twitter. “Adds that the change ‘was not easy.'”

Walters also said that Simmons “gives (Purdue) the best chance to operate efficiently,” per Rittenberg.

Purdue currently ranks 105th in the FBS in scoring offense (21.8 points per game) and 110th in total offense (322 yards per game).

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Simmons coached running backs at Miami (OH) last season, so calling plays in the Big Ten will be a major leap. However, a change needed to be made on the offense, which has not been performing up to par. Walters also plans to be more involved on the offensive side despite being a defensive coach by nature, according to Rittenberg.

Harrell is a longtime offensive coordinator in college football and was in his second season in that position at Purdue. He has also served as the OC and quarterback coach at North Texas, USC and West Virginia. He is a legendary quarterback at the college level himself, throwing for almost 16,000 yards and 134 touchdowns in four years at Texas Tech from 2005-08.

Simmons' stint as the play-caller will start with a pair of difficult road games in the Big Ten against Wisconsin and Illinois. If Purdue can't turn things around and come out with at least one win away from home in the next two weeks, their hopes of bowl eligibility will be far-fetched just halfway through the season.