Purdue Football: Coaching Candidates to Replace Jeff Brohm
Jeff Brohm is headed to Louisville after six seasons at Purdue.
Purdue is the latest college football team looking for a head coach after Jeff Brohm left West Lafayette to take over at Louisville. Brohm's decision comes as no surprise considering his ties to Louisville as a former quarterback at the school. The Boilermakers went 36-34 under Brohm and won the Big Ten West Division title in '22. Over the last two years, Purdue went 17-9 overall and finished 12-6 in Big Ten action.
Who could replace Brohm at Purdue? Here are some names to watch in the coaching search:
Purdue Football: Coaching Candidates to Replace Jeff Brohm
Troy Calhoun, Head Coach, Air Force
Calhoun is a former Air Force quarterback and as the head coach at his alma mater, it would take a lot to pull him away from Colorado Springs. However, he's 120-78 with the Falcons and has guided the team to three seasons of at least nine wins over the last four years. Air Force's 2019 team finished 11-2 and No. 22 in the final rankings.
Chris Creighton, Head Coach, Eastern Michigan
Creighton quietly continues to do one of the nation's most underrated coaching jobs in the MAC. Eastern Michigan is one of the nation's toughest jobs, yet Creighton has guided the program to five bowl trips since '16 and is coming off an 8-4 mark - just the third time the program has won more than seven games in a season. Creighton also went 32-9 as the coach at Ottawa (1997-00), went 63-15 at Wabash (2001-07), and 44-22 at Drake (2008-13).
Willie Fritz, Head Coach, Tulane
Fritz was reportedly close to becoming the Georgia Tech head coach but opted to stay at Tulane. With the timing different for this job, could Fritz get on Purdue's radar? He's a proven winner from several jobs, including Central Missouri (97-47), Sam Houston State (40-15), Georgia Southern (17-7), and also with the Green Wave (42-45). Tulane is coming off its best season under Fritz, finishing 11-2 with an AAC title and is headed to the Sugar Bowl.
Tyson Helton, Head Coach, Western Kentucky
Purdue hired Brohm from Western Kentucky, and Helton is certainly on the radar for other jobs after going 31-21 over the last four years. The Florida native went 9-5 and won Conference USA's East Division with one of the nation's high-powered offenses. Despite losing the coordinator and several key pieces from that attack, the Hilltoppers reloaded and finished 8-5 this fall.
Charles Huff, Head Coach, Marshall
Huff's stock is on the rise after guiding Marshall to a 15-10 mark over the last two years. The Maryland native has also compiled an impressive resume as an assistant, spending time in the NFL with the Bills and on the collegiate sidelines with James Franklin at Penn State and Alabama under Nick Saban.
Jim Leonhard, Interim Coach/Defensive Coordinator, Wisconsin
Leonhard is familiar with the terrain of the Big Ten after spending time as a player, assistant and interim coach at Wisconsin. The Wisconsin native joined the Badgers' staff in '16, became a coordinator in '17 and took over as the program's interim coach in '22. Leonhard guided Wisconsin to a 4-3 mark over the last seven games.
Sean Lewis, Offensive Coordinator, Colorado
Lewis is reportedly headed to Colorado to work as the offensive coordinator for Deion Sanders. But could an opening in the Big Ten change his mind about heading to Boulder? The Illinois native played his college ball at Wisconsin, so there's plenty of experience and familiarity with the Big Ten. Lewis went 24-31 as the head coach at Kent State from 2018-22 and guided the Golden Flashes to a MAC East title in '21.
Jeff Monken, Head Coach, Army
Monken's name popped up at Kansas last offseason and another look at a Power 5 opening wouldn't be a surprise. The Illinois native is 63-49 at Army and has guided the program to five bowl appearances since '16. The Black Knights also have four seasons of at least nine victories. Also, he previously went 38-16 as the head coach at Georgia Southern from 2010-13. Monken runs the option at Army, so it's likely he would have to modify his offense some to work in the Big Ten.
Todd Monken, Offensive Coordinator, Georgia
Is Monken ready for another chance to run an FBS program? The Illinois native went 13-25 at Southern Miss from 2013-15, but the record in Hattiesburg is a little deceiving. He inherited a mess from the former staff and after a 4-20 start to his tenure, finished 9-5 and played for a conference title in '15. Monken left Southern Miss for assistant tenures in the NFL with the Buccaneers and Browns and returned to college in '20 to coordinate Georgia's offense. The Bulldogs rank 11th nationally in scoring (39.2) in '22.
Dan Mullen, Former Florida Head Coach
Mullen doesn't have any previous experience in the Big Ten, but he's been a head coach at two different stops in the SEC, compiling a 69-46 mark at Mississippi State and 34-15 at Florida. Is Mullen ready for a return to the sidelines after working as an analyst at ESPN in 2022?
Bill O'Brien, Offensive Coordinator, Alabama
O'Brien's name has been mentioned for vacancies at a handful of Power 5 jobs over the last couple of years and certainly this offseason. Does he have an interest in becoming a college coach again or is a return to the NFL up next? O'Brien went 15-9 as Penn State's head coach from 2012-13 and guided the Texans to a 52-48 mark from 2014-20.
Garrett Riley, Offensive Coordinator, TCU
If Purdue is looking for an up-and-coming name in the assistant ranks, then Riley - the brother of USC coach Lincoln Riley - fits perfectly. The Texas native doesn't have head-coaching experience but has moved fast through the ranks, spending time as an assistant at Kansas, Appalachian State, SMU and now TCU. The Horned Frogs' offense ranks sixth nationally by averaging 40.3 points a game in '22.
Kane Wommack, Head Coach, South Alabama
Most of Wommack's coaching career has been spent in the South, but he coached for three years at Indiana (2018-20) as an assistant under Tom Allen. The Missouri native has been on a fast rise through the coaching ranks and brought fast improvement to South Alabama in two years. After a 5-7 mark in his debut (2021), the Jaguars went 10-2 this season.
