Barry Odom was always here for a good time, not a long time.

There should have never been any delusions about that among a fan base that was teased into finally believing in the UNLV football program’s relevance after years of being an afterthought locally and a speck of dirt in the wind nationally.

He should not be blamed or faulted for taking full advantage of the incredible work he did for two seasons by cashing in and heading for greener pastures. It’s what happens when people are successful in any profession.

He also left UNLV in an attractive enough position to hire the kind of successor in Dan Mullen that the school likely would have had no chance to talk into the job two years ago.

For that, Odom should be thanked and appreciated instead of villainized in the way some fans have chosen to react.

But it is fair to be a bit disappointed in the job he actually decided to take and the process by which that happened.

Most observers of the program fully expected Odom to jump to Arkansas had that job opened up. It made sense for a lot of reasons.

In fact, there were plenty of similar jobs that it would have been easy to accept had they been the ones to lure Odom away.

But Purdue? That’s a tough one to take.

On the surface, it looks like an easy decision. Even if UNLV could have found the money to go to $3 million a year or even a little more, Odom is still doubling his salary by leaving. The lengthy contract also gives him a great parachute even if he flames out, so there’s not much actual risk of failure.

But Odom was going to get that bag regardless, whether he waited for a better opportunity in this cycle or even until next year.

At some point, a massive payday was coming his way. So the money isn’t a great reason to leave right now for this particular job — unless he wasn’t confident in what he was building and knew a fall was coming. That’s certainly possible, but wouldn’t speak much of his ability.

Power Two

One benefit Purdue does have is being in a Power Two conference. Yes, Power Two. It’s not Power Four anymore. The SEC and Big Ten are really all that matters in the current landscape, and coaches should be strongly coveting a job in one of those two leagues.

But again, Purdue? It might be one of the worst jobs in either of those megaconferences. Usually, this would be the time to get snarky and compare the joy of living in Las Vegas to the horror of living in West Lafayette, Indiana. But that’s not even necessary in this case.

While reports suggest Purdue is going to start building its resources, the program has certainly fallen behind in the name, image and likeness payment era.

It’s no accident the Boilermakers lost their best player on each side of the ball, edge rusher Nic Scourton and receiver Deion Burks, last offseason to schools willing to spend more to acquire them.

The result was an awful 1-11 season, which is why the job was open. And there are just so many schools to climb over to get where the program wants to go.

Purdue hasn’t finished a season ranked in the Top 25 in two decades, and while the Boilermakers were in a Big Ten title game just two years ago, the league has more elite programs now and no more of the favorable divisional alignment that gave Purdue a path to that game.

Focused on Boise?

And here’s the thing. It’s highly unlikely Purdue is Odom’s last stop. He is probably hoping to work the same kind of magic he did in Las Vegas and jump to a better job in a couple of years.

But as miraculous as it seemed at UNLV, it’s going to be even harder at Purdue, because as of now, UNLV has a more direct path to the College Football Playoff than Purdue.

Odom knows this having been just one game away with UNLV this season as Purdue was ending its season by losing to rival Indiana 66-0.

That loss by Odom to Boise State is also a reminder of the process by which Odom and Purdue agreed to a deal. The fact he took the job so quickly after that game leads to obvious speculation that the parties were far down the road before that game was played, which opens the door to questions about how focused Odom was at finishing the job here.

On the night of the game, it was easy to blame the weather or the spotlight. But hindsight is 20-20.

If any of his focus was on securing a new job and not on the task at hand, it’s incredibly unfortunate for the kids who helped him get that opportunity.

Look, UNLV is in a decent place, and Odom is financially secure, even if he is biting off more than he can chew in terms of trying to work another miracle. Both parties will be fine.

But Purdue? Really?

Contact Adam Hill at [email protected]. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.