Why Purdue football coordinators are confident in 2026 season, yet know what's at…
PurdueBarry Odom brought back a DC previously fired. Yet there is confidence the offense and defense will mesh for growth in Odom's second year at Purdue.
Josh Henson and Kevin Kane spent the last month trying to outwit the other. For Kane, Friday's kickoff against Indiana State is a first chance to prove Barry Odom's decision to hire him for the role he'd had in 2023 and '24, an unpopular move for fans, was the right choice.
For Henson, it's a chance to show growth after 2025 provided him the first chance to be a full-time offensive play caller in a decade . "These small little details and just organizing and running an offense, one year back into it, I'm rolling on those things," Henson said four days ahead of the season opener.
"Because of that, it's given our coaching staff the ability to go coach our guys on all the small details and I feel like we're further along in that area." Henson and Kane were somewhat handicapped the last time they were in this position.
KEY POINTS
- Why Purdue football coordinators are confident in 2026 season, yet know what's at stake.
- Now Purdue football 's offensive and defensive coordinators are unified in hoping to play complementary football Friday night against someone other than their own team.
- Theoretically that means more production and time of possession, thus more opportunities to fully divulge in the playbook a season after the Boilermakers averaged just 18.8 points per game and never scored more than 27 points in the final eight games.
- The staff, minus two exceptions, was terminated after the 2024 season, following a 1-11 record in which the defense allowed nearly 40 points per game.