# Barry Odom
**Barry Odom** is an American college football coach, a former Missouri linebacker who has served as head coach at Missouri (2016-2019), UNLV (2023-2024), and Purdue (from December 2024), and as defensive coordinator at Arkansas (2020-2022). His career head-coaching record at major schools is 49-46 (.516) across eight seasons.[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/barry-odom-1.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Playing career | Linebacker at the University of Missouri, 1996-1999; team captain as a senior and fourth on the school's career tackles list[2](https://saturdaytradition.com/college-football/big-ten/coaches/barry-odom/) |
| Missouri head coach | 2016-2019, 25-25 overall (4-8, 7-6, 8-5, 6-6); fired after the 2019 season[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/barry-odom-1.html) |
| UNLV head coach | Hired December 6, 2022; 9-5 in 2023 and 10-3 in 2024, with the 2024 team ranked as high as No. 19 in the AP poll[4](https://sports.betmgm.com/en/blog/college-football/barry-odom-coaching-record-career-age-sgc/) • [1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/barry-odom-1.html) |
| 2023 Mountain West Coach of the Year | Won the award in his first UNLV season[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/barry-odom-1.html) |
| Purdue head coach | Hired December 2024 on a six-year deal worth at least $39 million; 2-10 in his debut season of 2025[5](https://www.axios.com/local/indianapolis/2024/12/10/purdue-football-barry-odom) • [6](https://www.axios.com/local/indianapolis/2026/08/05/iu-and-purdue-prepare-for-very-different-college-football-seasons) |
| Bowl record as head coach | 0-3 (Texas Bowl 2017, Liberty Bowl 2018, Guaranteed Rate Bowl 2023)[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/barry-odom-1.html) |
## Playing career and early coaching
Odom played college football at the [University of Missouri](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-missouri) as a linebacker from 1996 to 1999, serving as team captain during his senior year and finishing fourth on the school's career tackles list.[2](https://saturdaytradition.com/college-football/big-ten/coaches/barry-odom/) • [7](https://a.espncdn.com/sec/football/2019/Team%20Pages.pdf) His early coaching stops included one season as an assistant at Ada (OK) [High School](https://www.edgepedia.org/high-school) in 2000, two seasons as head coach at [Rock Bridge High School](https://www.edgepedia.org/rock-bridge-high-school) in Missouri (2001-02), a graduate assistantship at Missouri in 2003, and a stint as the Tigers' director of football recruiting in 2004-05.[8](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sidearm.nextgen.sites/unlvrebels.com/documents/2023/7/21/FTB_OnlineGuide_2023_Final_Digital.pdf) He later spent three years at Memphis before returning to Missouri as defensive coordinator for the 2015 season.[9](https://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/sec/university-of-missouri/article237917554.html)
## Missouri head coach, 2016-2019
Missouri named Odom its 32nd head football coach in December 2015, promoting him after Gary Pinkel's retirement following the 2015 season; at 38, he took over his alma mater.[10](https://mutigers.com/documents/download/2018/10/23/Week_9_Game_8_Notes_Kentucky.pdf) • [2](https://saturdaytradition.com/college-football/big-ten/coaches/barry-odom/) As defensive coordinator in 2015 he had produced immediately, with the Tigers ranking ninth nationally in total defense at 302.0 yards per game.[11](https://arkansasrazorbacks.com/pdf/mediaguide/football/2020/Coaches_Staff.pdf)
His four seasons in Columbia followed a steady arc. After a 4-8 rebuilding year in 2016, the 2017 team won seven games and earned the program's first bowl berth since 2014, losing the Texas Bowl to Texas.[10](https://mutigers.com/documents/download/2018/10/23/Week_9_Game_8_Notes_Kentucky.pdf) • [1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/barry-odom-1.html) The 2018 team went 8-5 and lost the Liberty Bowl to Oklahoma State, making Odom just the fourth coach in Missouri history to take the Tigers to a bowl game in two of his first three seasons.[11](https://arkansasrazorbacks.com/pdf/mediaguide/football/2020/Coaches_Staff.pdf) He finished with a 4-0 record against Arkansas and three consecutive seasons at .500 or better, but was dismissed after a 6-6 season in 2019, a firing he later described as a "bad deal."
## Arkansas defensive coordinator, 2020-2022
Rather than accept a lower-tier head coaching job, Odom stayed in the SEC as defensive coordinator under [Sam Pittman](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-pittman) at Arkansas, a head coach he had tried to hire at Missouri two or three times without success.[12](https://www.si.com/college/arkansas/football/razorbacks-unlv-missouri-odom-pittman-sec-fired) The Razorbacks entered the job in poor shape, with back-to-back two-win seasons and a long conference losing streak; in the COVID-disrupted 2020 season Odom improvised schematically around a thin roster, and Arkansas snapped a 20-game SEC losing streak by beating Mississippi State.[12](https://www.si.com/college/arkansas/football/razorbacks-unlv-missouri-odom-pittman-sec-fired)
## UNLV head coach, 2023-2024
UNLV hired Odom on December 6, 2022, after his three years at Arkansas.[4](https://sports.betmgm.com/en/blog/college-football/barry-odom-coaching-record-career-age-sgc/) • [13](https://lasvegassun.com/news/2022/dec/06/heres-the-file-on-unlvs-new-football-coach/) The turnaround was rapid. UNLV went 9-5 in 2023, losing the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, and Odom was named Mountain West Coach of the Year.[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/barry-odom-1.html) In 2024 the Rebels went 10-3 and were ranked in the AP poll, reaching No. 19; the season was the program's winningest in 40 years.[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/barry-odom-1.html) • [5](https://www.axios.com/local/indianapolis/2024/12/10/purdue-football-barry-odom) Across his two seasons UNLV averaged 10 wins per year against a baseline of 3.0 wins in the five seasons before his tenure.[14](https://cfbtrack.com/coaches/588-barry-odom)
His UNLV tenure also included a public dispute over name, image, and likeness payments. In September 2024, starting quarterback Matthew Sluka, a transfer from Holy Cross, sat out the rest of the season after his agent said a promised $100,000 NIL payment had not been made; UNLV said there was no signed agreement and characterized the demands as a violation of NCAA pay-for-play rules, and Odom declined to speak with reporters about the matter.[15](https://apnews.com/article/59449174adffe0940266427158d964d3)
## Purdue head coach
Odom resigned as UNLV's head coach before the [LA Bowl](https://www.edgepedia.org/la-bowl) to take the same position at Purdue in December 2024.[16](https://www.unlv.edu/sites/default/files/media/document/2025-05/UNLV_Magazine-Spring_2025.pdf) He agreed to a six-year contract worth at least $39 million and called the Purdue job a dream come true, citing the university's academic prestige, its Midwest location, and competition in the Big Ten.[5](https://www.axios.com/local/indianapolis/2024/12/10/purdue-football-barry-odom) He inherited a program coming off a 1-11 season in 2024 and went 2-10 in his debut season of 2025, bringing in more than 50 new players including over 30 transfer portal additions.[6](https://www.axios.com/local/indianapolis/2026/08/05/iu-and-purdue-prepare-for-very-different-college-football-seasons) • [2](https://saturdaytradition.com/college-football/big-ten/coaches/barry-odom/)
## Family
Odom's younger brother, Brian Odom, is also a college football coach; he served as outside linebackers coach on Barry's Missouri staff beginning in 2017 and later became inside linebackers coach and associate head coach for defense at USC.[17](https://mutigers.com/news/2017/02/3/brian-odom-joins-mizzou-football-coaching-staff) • [18](https://device.report/m/eb320de3d76939b4f05e6038543742519dc7375bf969f377d7c8cf20ba73f061.pdf)
## References
1. [Barry Odom College Coaching Records, Sports-Reference](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/barry-odom-1.html)
2. [Barry Odom Coaching History & Bio, Saturday Tradition](https://saturdaytradition.com/college-football/big-ten/coaches/barry-odom/)
3. [Barry Odom Coaching Record & Career, CFB.app](https://cfb.app/coach/barry-odom)
4. [Barry Odom: Coaching Record, Career, Age, BetMGM](https://sports.betmgm.com/en/blog/college-football/barry-odom-coaching-record-career-age-sgc/)
5. [Purdue football welcomes Barry Odom, Axios Indianapolis](https://www.axios.com/local/indianapolis/2024/12/10/purdue-football-barry-odom)
6. [IU and Purdue prepare for very different college football seasons, Axios Indianapolis](https://www.axios.com/local/indianapolis/2026/08/05/iu-and-purdue-prepare-for-very-different-college-football-seasons)
7. [SEC Football 2019 Team Pages, ESPN](https://a.espncdn.com/sec/football/2019/Team%20Pages.pdf)
8. [2023 UNLV Football Media Guide](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sidearm.nextgen.sites/unlvrebels.com/documents/2023/7/21/FTB_OnlineGuide_2023_Final_Digital.pdf)
9. [A timeline of Barry Odom's four-year tenure at Missouri, Kansas City Star](https://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/sec/university-of-missouri/article237917554.html)
10. [ODOM ERA TRENDS, Missouri Tigers game notes](https://mutigers.com/documents/download/2018/10/23/Week_9_Game_8_Notes_Kentucky.pdf)
11. [2020 Arkansas Football Coaches Staff media guide](https://arkansasrazorbacks.com/pdf/mediaguide/football/2020/Coaches_Staff.pdf)
12. [Former Tigers' Coach Given 'Raw Deal' at Missouri Before Hogs, Sports Illustrated](https://www.si.com/college/arkansas/football/razorbacks-unlv-missouri-odom-pittman-sec-fired)
13. [Here's the file on UNLV's new football coach Barry Odom, Las Vegas Sun](https://lasvegassun.com/news/2022/dec/06/heres-the-file-on-unlvs-new-football-coach/)
14. [Barry Odom College Football Coach, CFBTrack](https://cfbtrack.com/coaches/588-barry-odom)
15. [UNLV QB to sit out season after agent says $100,000 promised for transfer has not been paid, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/59449174adffe0940266427158d964d3)
16. [UNLV Magazine Spring 2025](https://www.unlv.edu/sites/default/files/media/document/2025-05/UNLV_Magazine-Spring_2025.pdf)
17. [Brian Odom Joins Mizzou Football Coaching Staff, Missouri Athletics](https://mutigers.com/news/2017/02/3/brian-odom-joins-mizzou-football-coaching-staff)
18. [USC Assistant Coaches biographical document](https://device.report/m/eb320de3d76939b4f05e6038543742519dc7375bf969f377d7c8cf20ba73f061.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Rugby and other football codes › College, minor, and international American football › College football programs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license