Blog
In Retrospect, Purdue Timing on Firing Football Coach Looks Good
Increasingly it looks like Purdue’s athletic department was wise to pay Ryan Walters $9.5 million to go away last November with a 5-19 record.
I’m not talking about results on the field, where quarterback Ryan Browne’s poor decision making is a reason the Boilermakers are 2-6 instead of 4-4.
So far, 10 college football coaches have been fired during the 2025 season.
Where would Purdue have been slotted in the Help Wanted section had it given Walters an undeserved third season? Just with the vacancies alone through Oct. 26, the pecking order probably would have been thus:
LSU, Penn State, Florida, Arkansas, Oklahoma State, UCLA and Virginia Tech.
Compare that lineup to Purdue’s competition for Barry Odom: North Carolina, West Virginia and UCF.
There could be up to four vacancies in the Big Ten Conference alone. To the shock of no one, DeShaun Foster was ousted after 15 games at UCLA. Penn State ran out of patience with James Franklin after back-to-back losses to UCLA and Northwestern, the latter at home. Foster’s reported $6.4 million going away present is dwarfed by Franklin’s $49 million buyout.
Unlike Purdue, which allowed Walters to make $1 million as Washington’s defensive coordinator on top of the buyout, Franklin must make a good faith effort to secure another job and diminish Penn State’s obligation.
Jonathan Smith is rumored to be heading out the door after just two seasons at Michigan State. Luke Fickell, supposedly the gem of the coaching class of 2023, has worn out his welcome at Wisconsin.
Fickell, who received the dreaded vote of confidence from his athletic director a couple of weeks ago, will reportedly cost Wisconsin a $25 million buyout. That’s cheap compared to Smith’s $33 million buyout at Michigan State.
If you think the Big Ten is spending Monopoly money on football coaches, let’s look south of the Mason-Dixon Line.
Former Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly, with the blessing of Louisiana governor Jeff Landry (Republican), is out at LSU. The cost? As much as $54 million. Next to Mississippi, Louisiana is the poorest state in the U.S. with more than 17 percent of the population living in poverty. Winning football games, though, has always been more important down on the Bayou than feeding the hungry.
That’s not even a record for a coach’s buyout. Texas A&M paid Jimbo Fisher $76 million in 2022 to not coach the Aggies.
Florida, Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech, Oregon State, Colorado State and UAB will spend $59 million for the privilege of paying their next football coach and his staff many more millions. Former Florida coach Billy Napier will receive half of his $20.4 million buyout in just a few weeks under terms of his contract. Merry Christmas!
Top 100
Eighty percent of top-ranked Purdue’s starting lineup is ranked among the top 100 college basketball players by ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf.
Braden Smith sits atop the ESPN list, as Borzello notes that the Indiana Mr. Basketball from Westfield is the preseason Wooden Award favorite as well as the favorite to repeat as the Bob Cousy Award winner as the nation’s best point guard.
“He has improved in each of his previous three seasons at Purdue, starting from day one as a freshman — despite being an unranked recruit — and is now cementing himself as the best point guard in the country,” Borzello writes. “He took a massive step forward offensively last season after the departure of Zach Edey, averaging a career high 15.8 points to go with 8.7 assists (second in the country), while shooting 38.1 percent from 3-point range. Now the question heading into his senior season is: Can he and Matt Painter lead the Boilermakers to the program’s first national championship?”
Trey Kaufman-Renn is ranked 10th, with Medcalf stating the senior forward is one of Smith’s challengers for Big Ten Player of the Year as well as the Wooden Award.
Transfer center Oscar Cluff’s reputation as one of the nation’s best rebounders earned him a slot in the countdown at No. 70.
“How he coexists next to Trey Kaufman-Renn up front could ultimately determine whether Purdue has what it takes to win a national championship,” Borzello writes.
Fletcher Loyer’s sharpshooting behind the 3-point line, 44.4 percent as a sophomore and a junior, squeezed the four-year starting guard into the countdown at No. 91.
On Wednesday, Loyer was among 20 players selected to the Julius Erving Award watch list, given to the nation’s top small forward.
The list of nominees includes Big Ten rivals Andrej Stojakovic (Illinois), Tucker DeVries (Indiana), Devin Royal (Ohio State), Eric Dailey Jr. (UCLA) and Chad Baker-Mazara (USC).
Loyer has started all 110 games during his career, helping Purdue to a 87-23 record during that span and has scored 1,291 career points while ranking 10th on Purdue’s career 3-pointers made list with 197.
All-American duo
The Athletic’s Brendan Marks concurs with ESPN, making Braden Smith the leader of his preseason All-American squad.
“Shocker: The guy within striking distance of breaking Bobby Hurley’s all-time NCAA assists record — and the best player on the preseason No. 1 team — leads our list, Marks writes.
“But in Purdue’s quest for a second Final Four berth in three seasons — and for the national championship that has eluded the Big Ten since 2000 — it’s worth asking: Can Smith still get better? Smith is the front-runner to become Purdue’s second Wooden Award winner in three seasons.”
Purdue is the only school with two preseason All-Americans. Trey Kaufman-Renn was chosen to The Athletic’s second team. The senior forward is coming off a 2024-25 season that saw him lead the nation in made field goals and made 2-point shots.
“The biggest difference this season will be that he doesn’t have to operate as Purdue’s lone big, and especially not as its defensive stopper,” Marks writes. “South Dakota State transfer Oscar Cluff arrives as a much-needed rebounder and defensive presence who should alleviate some of the interior burden. That should allow Kaufman-Renn to focus even more of his efforts on the offensive end, where he and Smith will form arguably the most devastating pick-and-roll combo in the nation.”
Kenny Thompson is the former sports editor for the Lafayette Journal & Courier and an award-winning journalist. He has covered Purdue athletics for many years.