Former Tigers' Coach Given 'Raw Deal" at Missouri Before Hogs

Current UNLV coach Barry Odom talks about firing, being hired by Pittman as defensive coordinator

UNLV Rebels coach Barry Odom reacts in the fourth quarter against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Stadium. / Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — When UNLV coach Barry Odom was fired by Missouri during his time as head coach, it came as a surprise. He took over for legendary Tigers' coach Gary Pinkel after performing well as defensive coordinator in 2015.

During his time as head coach, Odom led Missouri to a 4-0 record against Arkansas and three consecutive seasons at .500 or above from 2016-19. But he was unceremoniously dismissed by his alma mater despite navigating NCAA sanctions over something out of his control.

Odom met with hosts of the Coaches and the Mouth podcast which is headed up by Arkansas high school coaching legend Jeff Williams, former Razorback offensive lineman Brey Cook and Brent Bender. He shared with the show that he may have actually received a 'raw deal' at the end of his tenure in Columbia.

"I thought I got a bad deal at the end [with Missouri], too," Odom said. "You live and you learn, but I also look at it as if we had NIL the way it's rolling out, we probably could have recruited a little different at my alma mater.

"Things happen. You have to adjust, have to change and that's how the world always is."

When he was let go as head coach, Odom shared that he wasn't someone who wanted to sit around and not do anything. He wanted to work and continue to chase opportunities to make a difference like.

For Odom, head coaching jobs at the power conference level weren't available. A few Group of Five gigs reached out, but he instead decided to remain around the SEC and ultimately challenge himself to bounce back from being fired.

"I wanted to stay in the SEC during that time," Odom said. "I had known Sam Pittman. Tried to hire him two or three times at Missouri and I couldn't ever afford him. He was either at Tennessee or Georgia and I couldn't get the contract done. I had a lot of respect for him and wanted to go work with and for him. Man, what a great decision that was. I enjoyed my three years there."

The Razorbacks were down further than at any time in program history. Back-to-back two-win seasons and another long conference losing streak made Arkansas out to be career purgatory.

A lack of quality depth, talent and size defensively forced Odom to scheme for success on the field more than ever. The Razorbacks led Georgia at halftime of the 2020 opener before stunning the Air Raid in Starkville which snapped a 20-game SEC losing streak.

"We did some things defensively early on in 2020 – who knew every week what our roster was going to be – we had to put some things together schematically just to have a chance," Odom said. "The chance to go down and beat Mississippi State and beat Ole Miss with six takeways. There are so many memories that I have from that first year on really getting around and building it the way you wanted under those circumstances."

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