Purdue Coach Ryan Walters Explains Decision to Make Offensive Coordinator Change
Sunday, Purdue coach Ryan Walters made the difficult decision to part ways with offensive coordinator Graham Harrell. Through four games, the Boilermakers were sputtering on that side of the football, prompting Walters to make a change.
Harrell's firing came after a 1-3 start to the season. Purdue dropped three consecutive games, falling to Notre Dame (66-7), Oregon State (38-21) and Nebraska (28-10). The Boilers struggled to move the football in all three contests.
During his weekly press conference, Walters was asked about the decision to make a change after four games. Basically, the coach wanted to try and salvage the season with eight games remaining on the schedule.
"The decision to do it now was a couple reasons," Walters said. "One, I believe we have a better team than we have been showing the last three weeks. There's a lot of football left to be played. I felt like if I didn't do anything right now, it would be kind of like waving a white flag on the season. Nobody in that building is ready to do that."
In four games, Purdue's offense averaged 21.8 points per game, ranking 104th nationally out of 134 FBS teams. Take away the 49-0 victory over Indiana State and that averaged plummets to 12.6 points per game.
Walters made it clear that his decision was nothing personal. He still has a lot of respect for Harrell, but he wanted to find a solution to Purdue's struggling offense.
"Obviously, it was not easy. I have a lot of respect for Graham and I appreciate what he had poured into this program up to this point. Love him and his family dearly. It was not an easy conversation, but this is a business. It was nothing personal, I wish nothing but him and his family the best. ... For whatever reason, it just wasn't working here."
Offensive analyst Jason Simmons will take over the play-calling duties for Purdue's offense for the remainder of the season. His first test is a challenging one, as the Boilers travel to Madison to play Wisconsin on Saturday.
Purdue hasn't beaten the Badgers since 2003.
Kickoff is set for noon ET and the game airs on Big Ten Network. It will be our first look at Purdue's offense without Harrell calling the shots.
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