Purdue has moved on from Ryan Walters after just two seasons as head coach of the Boilermakers. Walters went just 5-19 in his two years at the helm in West Lafayette, having the lowest winning percentage for any head coach with more than one season at Purdue.
The move was the creates the second Power 4 head coaching gig to open up this cycle, along with North Carolina. The Boilermakers will now begin their second head coaching search in the last three years, where Ryan Walters’ replacement will be found.
It is a much different situation than the search in December 2022. Then, it was a program coming off back-to-back 8-win seasons and a Big Ten Championship Game appearance. Less than two years later, the Boilermakers are regarded as one of the worst teams in all of college football.
That is what Purdue now has to contend with as it looks for a new leader of the football program. Boiler Upload takes a look at ten candidates that could replace Walters in West Lafayette.
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Candle has solidified himself as one of, if not the best, Group of 5 coaches in the country. Across nine full seasons at the helm of Toledo, and has finished with a winning record in all but one season, a 6-6 campaign in 2019.
Candle took over the Toledo program following Matt Campbell’s departure for Iowa State in 2015. Since then, he has guided the program to a pair of 11-win seasons, most recently in 2023, as well as two 9-win campaigns. He has won two MAC Championships, along with a MAC West title during his tenure with the Rockets.
Candle has led a high-powered offense for the Rockets, having just one season scoring less than 30 points per game since he took over as offensive coordinator in 2012 and head coach beginning in 2016.
Would Candle be open to leaving his home state, especially after inking an extension in October? That remains unclear, but it’s worth a call to the two-time MAC Coach of the Year. Purdue could look to lure Candle away from Toledo for a bigger opportunity in the Big Ten.
An intriguing name that Big Ten fans know, Rich Rodriguez could be in line for a jump back into the Power 4 ranks. The current Jacksonville State head coach has had prior success as West Virginia and Arizona, as well as experience in the Big Ten when he was leading Michigan from 2008-2010.
Rodriguez is 17-8 over his last two years at Jacksonville State and hasn’t been a head coach at the Power 4 level since 2017.
Would Purdue be enticing enough to pull Rodriguez from his current post, where he’s had success?
One of the top up and coming coaches in the profession, SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee could be a home run hire for Purdue looking to go in another direction.
Lashlee is just 41 years old, but has already impressed in his third season as a head coach. Under the direction of Lashlee, the Mustangs are 24-10 and are coming off their first 11-win campaign since their National Championship season in 1982, as well as their first conference championship since that season.
Lashlee is an offensive minded coach, having previously been the offensive coordinator at Miami (FL), Auburn, UConn, SMU, Arkansas State and Samford between 2011-2021. He has a history of producing productive quarterbacks, including Shane Buechele, D’Eriq King, Tyler Van Dyke and this season, Kevin Jennings.
SMU is riding high his season and has a path to a College Football Playoff appearance in the next couple of week. Should the Ponies reach that point, Lashlee could be in line for a step up in his coaching career, but would be want to step into a complete rebuild in West Lafayette is the question.
Liberty head coach Jamey Chadwell has become one of the top head coaches in the country that is not yet at the Power 4 level. Since the start of the 2020 season, Chadwell has a record of 52-10, and is 21-4 at his current post with Liberty.
Chadwell began rising in the coaching ranks at Coastal Carolina, where he put together back-to-back 11-win campaigns. After a 9-win season in 2022, he made the move to Liberty and has continued his success, taking the Flames to their first New Year’s Six bowl last year.
The 47-year old has spent his coaching career in the south, having also been head coach at North Greenville, Delta State and Charleston Southern. It would be a change for Chadwell to come to Big Ten territory, but a track record of winning could entice the Boilermakers to bring the rising head coach to the Power 4 level.
Another aspect to watch is Chadwell’s potential buyout, as he is being paid around $28 million over seven years at Liberty. Two years into that deal, he is still owed in the range of $20 million, which could make matters complicated. So could Chadwell’s ability to be picky with the job he chooses to take if he were to leave Liberty.
A former employer of Ryan Walters is expected to be one of the more sought-after coaches in this year’s cycle in UNLV head coach Barry Odom. Odom was previously the head coach at Missouri, where he was fired after the 2019 season, following a 25-25 stint over four years in Columbia.
After a stretch as defensive coordinator at Arkansas, Odom has turned around a previously lifeless UNLV program. In his debut season with the Rebels in 2023, Odom put together a 9-win campaign, the program’s first in almost 40 years, and the first winning season since 2013. UNLV has also started 2024 on a high note going 9-1 thus far and is ranked in the College Football Playoff rankings.
Odom has a defensive background, which could be something Purdue shies away from after Walters, but he is a proven head coach that will have a lot of suitors this off-season. As a head coach, however, he has also overseen some high-powered offenses, namely under offensive coordinators Derek Dooley (Missouri) and Brennan Marion (UNLV).
A name that was heavily in the mix last time Purdue’s head coaching gig was open is Western Kentucky head coach Tyson Helton. Purdue has shown interest before, and could look to go back again. Helton has been one of the top coaches in Conference USA since his first year at Western Kentucky in 2019, winning 8 or more games in all but one season at the helm.
The track record of success is there. So too is something Purdue needs, offensive success. Helton also has a track record for orchestrating some of the nation’s top aerial attacks during his time with the Hilltoppers. Quarterbacks Austin Reed and Bailey Zappe have thrived in a pass-heavy scheme that has ranked in the upper echelon of the country over the last six years.
Purdue could look to a familiar place in Bowling Green and pluck the Hilltoppers’ top two winningest coaches in program history.
Another Group of 5 head coach that has had extended success at his current post is Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield. Since taking over for Mike Norvell in 2020, he is 37-19 with the Tigers and is on track to have another strong campaign, at 6-1 in 2024. He’s never had a losing season and has back-to-back 10-win campaigns in 2023 and 2024.
Silverfield also has an offensive background, as an offensive line coach and run game coordinator at Memphis prior to his tenure as head coach. The Tigers have not averaged under 30 points per game in his five years as head coach, where he has become one of the top Group of 5 coaches.
Memphis has been a place that produces Power 4 coaches, with Mike Norvell (Florida State) and Justin Fuente (Virginia Tech). Could Purdue be the next to make that happen?
One of the few defensive minded head coaches on this initial list, Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall, is rising in the profession and could be in line for yet another jump.
In his two years leading Troy, he amassed a 23-4 record with a pair of 11+ win seasons and leading the program to it’s highest ranking in the AP Top 25 poll in school history.
After that stint, Sumrall made the move to Tulane and has gotten off to a solid start. The Green Wave finished the regular season at 9-3 and were ranked 17th in last week’s College Football Playoff rankings. Two of those losses came against then ranked Kansas State and Oklahoma during non-conference play this season.
He’s not the offensive minded head coach Purdue fans are circling, but Sumrall has won as a head coach and has experience at the Power 4 level as the former defensive coordinator at Kentucky. Should he bring Tulane offensive coordinator Joe Craddock with him, that could bring Purdue’s offense back to life.
A sleeper name to watch in this search is going to be Ohio’s Tim Albin. One of the top coaches in the MAC has continued to produce winning seasons for the Bobcats after taking over for longtime coach Frank Solich in 2020.
Following a 3-9 to begin his tenure, Albin has put together three straight seasons with 9 or more wins, including back-to-back 10-win campaigns in 2021 and 2021.
Albin has an offensive background and endured a massive portal exodus last off-season, but that didn’t deter him from contending for a MAC Championship in 2024. He may not be the hottest name on the market, but one that has had success.
Another intriguing name, particularly due to his situation at Marshall. Charles Huff has the Thundering Herd in the Sun Belt Championship Game and is without a contract for next season.
After stints as an assistant at Alabama, Mississippi State and Penn State, Huff has guided Marshall to a 31-20 record, including a pair of 9-win seasons.
Huff would bring an offensive mindset, as his unit led by former Purdue tight ends coach Seth Doege averages north of 31 points per game.
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