Two years ago Jeff Brohm was on the hot seat, now he has the Boilermakers playing for a Big Ten championship
When Purdue hired Jeff Brohm as their head coach before the 2017 season, he was taking over a program that hadn’t posted a winning record since 2011, and had gone 9-39 under former head coach Darrell Hazell. His task was fairly straight forward. Rebuild the program so that the Boilermakers would compete for regular bowl appearances each season.
Can’t forget as well, the goal of winning and retaining the Old Oaken Bucket against in-state rival, Indiana.
In Brohm’s first season, Purdue would surprise many when they finished the regular season with a 31-24 victory over IU and becoming bowl eligible with a 6-6 record. Purdue would be invited to the Foster Farms Bowl, where they would beat Arizona 38-35, and finish the season at 7-6.
Year two saw the Boilermakers go 6-6 once more, and in the process, retain the Old Oaken Bucket with a 28-21 victory of the Hoosiers. This time however, Purdue was invited to the Music City Bowl where they were trounced by Auburn, 63-14.
Still, back to back years of bowl appearances had the Purdue fan base excited for a future under Brohm.
Post 2018
Brohm was awarded by Purdue for his performance with a $36.8 million, seven year deal after the 2018 campaign. After flirting to leave with a few schools, Purdue fans could rest easy knowing their coach wasn’t going anywhere soon.
But then things started to come off the rails, no pun intended.
The 2019 campaign saw the Boilermakers struggle to a 4-8 finish. Inconsistent quarterback play, and a defense that struggled to stop the opposition wrecked any plans Purdue had of making a third straight trip to a bowl game.
Adding insult to injury, Purdue would lose to Indiana in their annual game, 44-41. The first loss to the Hoosiers while Brohm was head coach.
The 2020 campaign saw largely the same issues crop back up for Purdue. With inconsistent quarterback play leading to an inconsistent offense, and a defense once again unable to stop anyone, Purdue finished 2-4 in a pandemic shortened year. Because of the pandemic, Purdue would not get a chance to play Indiana in their annual rivalry game.
The struggles though of 2019 and 2020 frustrated the fan base. Many felt that after 2018, Purdue football should be trending upwards, as the recruits now were Brohm’s guys. Instead, it felt like the program was regressing, and any thoughts of moving on from Brohm were met with a paywall, in the form of a hefty payout tied to the seven year extension.
The Revitalization
Before the 2021 season, Brohm made a point to fix the defense. He brought in Brad Lambert as defensive coordinator, who was at Marshall the year prior under the same position. Brohm wanted an experienced coach who could act like a head coach of the unit, while he worked on fixing his offense.
The switch of coordinators worked, as Purdue’s defense looked vastly improved under Lambert. The defense, which had been allowing around 30 points per game, now averaged around 22. Brohm meanwhile was able to repair his offense, even if the QB situation was still in flux, as he led the Boilermakers to a 9-4 record. The season was capped off with a crushing victory 44-7 victory over IU, and a 48-45 victory over Tennessee in the Music City Bowl.
Between 2021 and 2022, Lambert would leave Purdue to take the DC position with Wake Forest. To fill this hole, Brohm made Ron English and Mark Hagen co-defensive coordinators. Some questioned if the move would work, as Lambert was a huge loss for the program trying to build stability.
Brohm though knew what he was doing when he promoted English and Hagen, as both men were able to avoid any significant drop-off concerning defensive performance. Purdue would also settle on Aidan O’Connell at quarterback, and along with transfer wideout Charlie Jones, the Boilermakers were able to repeat their regular season mark from a year prior, finishing 8-4.
A Shot At A Title
Unlike 2021 however, Purdue has one more game to play. They meet with #2 Michigan this evening in the Big Ten Championship, after winning the Big Ten West.
Purdue is a heavy underdog, as most teams would be facing this undefeated Wolverine team. However, Purdue has beaten top five teams before, and under Brohm, they have gone 3-1 against such opponents.
Even if though Purdue should fall in the Championship, all indications are that Jeff Brohm has the Boilermakers back on track. (This time, pun intended.)
If Brohm and Purdue do pull the upset though, it’ll be the cherry on top to vindicating a coach who just two years ago was on the hot seat.