Purdue AD says loss to Indiana had no impact on firing Ryan Walters
Purdue wrapped up a disappointing season with a crushing 66-0 loss to Indiana in the annual Old Oaken Bucket game. The Hoosiers set multiple records on Saturday, including most points scored by Indiana and the biggest point differential.
On Sunday, coach Ryan Walters was fired after only 2 seasons in West Lafeyette. That move felt inevitable after a 1-11 and the worst loss to IU in program history.
However, Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski talked to the media on Monday, and he said that specific loss had ‘zero impact’ on the decision to make the coaching move.
Bobinski said Saturday's result (66-0 vs IU) had "zero" impact on the decision to dismiss Walters.
Didn't pinpoint a day he made this decision but said came to realization of period of weeks there was no viable path to turning things around.— Nathan Baird (@nwbaird) December 2, 2024
Walters was 5-19 during his 2 years as the coach at Purdue. Before he was the head coach, Walters had made his mark on the defensive side of the ball. He was most recently the defensive coordinator at Illinois, and he had the same position at Missouri before that.
With today’s football going more and more on the offensive side of the ball, Bobinski was asked if the program would go that route in the coaching search. That has been a staple of past coaches for the Boilermakers, including Jeff Brohm’s recent stint for Purdue.
#Purdue AD Mike Bobinski: "You asked if we're going to go back to an offensive-minded coach. We're going to go back to a winning coach."
— Dustin Schutte (@SchutteDustin) December 2, 2024
“You asked if we’re going to back to an offensive-minded coach,” Bobinski said. “We’re going to go back to a winning coach.”
“Our goal is moving forward in the most effective, efficient and expeditious way possible to restore Purdue football to the level of success we all expect.”
Watch Mike Bobinski’s full opening remarks 👇#B1GFootball pic.twitter.com/9g2sBkymbB
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) December 2, 2024
Bobinski said the team would be diligent in its search for a coach, but that he expects the search to take any time from 1 week to potentially 10 days. That timeline is interesting with the transfer portal window for undergraduates opening one week from Monday on Dec. 9.
Bobinski gives rough estimate of week to 10 days to complete the search.
Knows its natural, when one type of coach (young coordinator) doesn't work out, to assume school has to hire different profile. "We're going to look for the very best fit for our circumstances today."— Nathan Baird (@nwbaird) December 2, 2024
There could be more coaching jobs opening up in the coming days, and the Boilermakers are on the clock to get their new coach.