Purdue AD Mike Bobinski on Coaching Search: 'We're Going to Pay What We Need to Pay'
When it comes to finding the next leader of its football program, athletic director Mike Bobinski says Purdue is prepared to pony up the dough.
Monday, Bobinski met with reporters after making the decision to fire coach Ryan Walters. The choice was made following a 1-11 season in 2024, capped by an embarrassing 66-0 blowout loss to Indiana in the Old Oaken Bucket Game on Saturday.
Bobinski was asked if Purdue had an approximate budget when it came to finding its next football coach. The athletic director provided an emphatic statement, saying the school will spare no expense in an attempt to get the Boilermakers back on the winning path.
"We're going to pay what we need to pay in order to get the very best head coach and the very best staff. That's going to be what it takes," Bobinski said.
Purdue enjoyed a 9-4 season in 2021 and went 8-6 in 2022, earning a trip to the Big Ten Championship Game under then-coach Jeff Brohm. It was some of the best football in West Lafayette since the Joe Tiller era.
When Brohm left to take over at Louisville, there was an expectation that there'd be a bit of a rebuilding process in 2023. Purdue finished that season with a 4-8 record under Walters. But things derailed quickly this past season, starting with a 66-7 loss to Notre Dame in the second game of the season.
Ultimately, Bobinski said he didn't "see a path forward" with the current staff, forcing him to make a change.
Purdue's most successful coaches — Tiller and Brohm — have been offensive gurus. Bobinski was asked if that's going to be a factor when making the next hire.
"You asked if we're going to go back to an offensive-minded coach — we're going to go back to a winning coach. That's what we're going to go back to," Bobinski said. "I think you can do that in a lot of different ways."
Certainly, Purdue has won in the past and is capable of fielding a consistent product. And while it may not be in the same category as Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State or some of the other national powers in the Big Ten, Bobinski knows the next coach is stepping into a good situation in West Lafayette.
"This is a really good job. That doesn't mean it's an easy job, those are two different things," Bobinski said. "But it is a very good job.
"It will be a very-well resourced position. We will participate fully in the revenue sharing situation. That is a commitment that Purdue has made and we intend to provide our coaches with a level playing field with the people their playing against from a revenue-sharing perspective. That will be very positive."
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