Takeaways from Purdue Athletic Director Mike Bobinski's Press Conference

Purdue football's search for its next head coach is underway, and athletic director Mike Bobinski discusses the direction of the program. Brian Brohm will serve as interim head coach for the Boilermakers, with Mark Hagen set to call the defense.

D.J. Fezler | Dec 9, 2022

In this story:

Purdue Boilermakers

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University's search for its next head football coach is underway as Jeff Brohm has officially returned to his alma mater in Louisville.

Athletic director Mike Bobinski met with the media Thursday to discuss the upcoming bowl game for the Boilermakers, departures from their coaching staff, and the timetable and criteria for bringing in new leadership.

"Honestly, really grateful to him for — six years ago now — being willing to take on the challenge of rebuilding Purdue football," Bobinski said of Brohm. "And really grateful that we've been able to show some evidence that things can get done here in a big way.

"Nothing but appreciation for that. We've won some really big games. We've energized our students, our fanbase. Lots of really good things have happened during these last six years."

Purdue will take on No. 16 LSU on Jan. 2, 2023, in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. The team will be without running backs coach Chris Barclay, wide receivers coach Garrick McGee and co-defensive coordinator Ron English. They are all set to join Brohm with the Louisville football program.

"The rest are here and will be here with us through the bowl game to my knowledge at this point in time," Bobinski said. "But there's a little bit of fluidity around that."

Bobinski confirmed his official announcement that offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Brian Brohm will serve as the interim head coach for the Boilermakers. He will be joined by co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Mark Hagen, who is staying to call the defense.

It is expected that Brohm will join his brother with the Cardinals after the bowl game, and it would come as no surprise to Bobinski and Purdue if he decides to go that route. But for now, he will take on head coaching duties for the team's final game of the 2022 season.

"I can tell you that our players are excited, our remaining staff members are excited," Bobinski said. "Brian was hugely excited at the opportunity for him. It's a great professional moment, and a chance to really put his stamp on our program and the team over the next several weeks."

Over the past six years, the Boilermakers have reached four bowl games, including two wins, while claiming a trio of victories over teams ranked top three in the Associated Press College Football Top 25 poll. In 2021, Purdue earned its first nine-win season since 2003 and was ranked for the first time since 2007 following its 24-7 win over No. 2 Iowa.

Jeff Brohm rebuilt a program that was just 9-39 in the four seasons before his arrival. With success being shown to be possible in West Lafayette, Bobinski believes the program will be able to bring in candidates that reflect its growth over the last several years.

"I think we'll be able to attract a deeper and higher-quality pool than perhaps we were able to get in 2016," he said. "We had really good people there, and we hired a really good coach. But I think we may have more of that to be able to select from this time around and that's a result of where we've come.”

Bobinski is aware of the timetable for bringing in a new regime. The early signing period for football's National Signing Day begins Dec. 21.

"Our goal will be to accomplish this as expeditiously as possible," said Bobinski. "We don't want to rush into it. But I also know, we know the calendar, we know when the early signing date is, and we know what's coming and what's ahead of us.

"So we're going to try to accomplish this and get this to the right conclusion here just as quickly as we can. And that will be the everyday goal here until we finish that job."

Related Stories on Purdue Football