New Purdue football coach Barry Odom is sharing a story about the team's former coach, Ryan Walters. Odom says Walters offered any and all help to Odom as the new coach takes over, per the Journal & Courier.

Odom takes over a Purdue program that went 5-19 the last two seasons under Walters. Walters was fired after going just 1-11 in the 2024 season. The Boilermakers finished a woeful 0-9 in the Big Ten.

Odom previously coached at UNLV, where he went 19-8 in two seasons. He led the Rebels to the Mountain West championship game in both years. He also coached at Missouri, where Walters served on his staff. Odom had a 25-25 record with Missouri.

Walters is willing to offer any insight and counsel on players for Odom, according to the outlet. While the job is certainly a challenge for Odom, there's some reason to hope for Boilermakers fans. Purdue was in a bowl game just two years ago.

Purdue football is in the very difficult Big Ten Conference

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The Boilermakers were able to steal one of the hottest candidates in the 2024 college football coaching cycle. Odom was mentioned as a candidate at West Virginia, who is still looking for a coach. The head coach instead chose to head to West Lafayette, Indiana, where he will be tasked with turning around that program.

The Big Ten is a very difficult conference, so it won't be easy for Odom. There are four teams from the conference in the College Football Playoff this season: Oregon, Penn State, Ohio State and Indiana.

Odom is used to turning around floundering programs. UNLV football had been down for quite some time before the coach went to Las Vegas in 2022. He turned the Rebels into a group of 5 power, and a ranked team this season. UNLV football lost to Boise State in the Mountain West championship game.

Purdue is expected to be looking at several players in the transfer portal, after it opened on Monday.