Purdue reportedly hiring familiar face as defensive coordinator under Barry Odom
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WEST LAFAYETTE — Purdue football coach Barry Odom reportedly is reaching back to the failures of the staff which preceded him to fill a crucial coaching position.
Kevin Kane will return to the Boilermakers as defensive coordinator, per multiple reports. Kane spent last season as nickels and outside linebackers coach at Minnesota after being fired with the majority of Ryan Walters’ staff after the 2024 season.
Kane replaces Mike Scherer, who separated from the program this week. Neither Kane nor Odom has commented on the circumstances of that departure.
The move to replace him will certainly require some explanation. For the Boilermaker fanbase, Kane is inextricably linked to the lowest point in the program’s recent history and an especially catastrophic experience on defense.
Purdue finished 4-8 in Walters’ first season. He hired Kane, with whom he had worked with at Illinois, as his first defensive coordinator. However, Walters took back play-calling duties on defense for at least part of the season.
Kane called the defense throughout the 2024 season, which was one of the worst defensive performances in Purdue history. Starters included safety Dillon Thieneman, a freshman All-American at Purdue and All-American at Oregon this past season, and rush end Will Heldt, a third team All-ACC pick after transferring to Clemson.
However, that defense ranked last in the Big Ten — and second-worst among FBS programs — in yards allowed per play at 6.76. Purdue ranked 129th nationally in opposing quarterback rating, 134th in yards allowed per pass attempt and 115th in rushing yards per attempt.
Not surprisingly, Purdue also ranked 131st nationally in scoring defense, allowing 39.9 points per game — a number helped by a season-opening shutout of Indiana State. It allowed 45 or more points on six occasions, including 63 against Notre Dame and 66 against Indiana.
Purdue’s 2025 defense had only one third-team All-Big Ten selection — linebacker Mani Powell, who Scherer also coached at UNLV. It still ranked at or near the bottom of the Big Ten in most key categories — though it made at least marginal statistical improvements in most.
Kane also served as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at SMU from 2018-20. None of those teams ranked inside the national top 50 in yards allowed per play.
Minnesota ranked 13th in the Big Ten in yards allowed per play last season, which included ranking eighth in rushing yards allowed per attempt. Linebacker Maverick Baranowski was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection.
Kane’s previous stops included four seasons at Northern Illinois and two seasons as the associate head coach and linebackers coach at Illinois.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Kevin Kane returns as Purdue defensive coordinator, replaces Mike Scherer
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