Report: Purdue Hiring Former USC Assistant as Offensive Coordinator
Purdue has reportedly found its offensive coordinator. Per FootballScoop.com, Boilermakers coach Barry Odom is hiring former USC offensive line coach and offensive coordinator Josh Henson for a similar role in West Lafayette.
Henson spent the last three seasons on Lincoln Riley's staff at USC (2022-24). He was the offensive coordinator for Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams, as well as Miller Moss. This past season, the Trojans ranked 10th nationally in passing offense, throwing for 291.7 yards per game.
USC's passing offense ranked in the top-10 nationally each of the last three years with Henson running the show. The Trojans also had the third-best scoring offense in the country in 2022 (41.4 points per game) and 2023 (41.8 ppg).
Henson and Odom worked together at Missouri in the late 2000s and early 2010s. From 2009-15, Henson worked as the offensive line coach and offensive coordinator. Odom was the safeties coach at Mizzou from 2009-11 and returned as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 2015 after taking a job at Memphis from 2012-14.
Henson has also had stops at Oklahoma State (1999-2004, 2016-18), LSU (2005-08) and Texas A&M (2019-21).
Odom was hired as Purdue's head coach shortly after the conclusion of the 2024 season. The Boilermakers finished the year with a 1-11 record under previous coach Ryan Walters. Purdue ended the season on an 11-game losing streak.
In the past, Purdue has had plenty of success throwing the football around the field. Henson has a lot of experience opening up the playbook in that regard, having worked under coaches like Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State), Jimbo Fisher (Texas A&M) and Riley (USC).
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