Purdue football head coach Ryan Walters knew his offense needed a reboot and pulled the plug on Sunday night.
The second-year head coach fired offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Graham Harrell in the wake of an 18-point loss to Nebraska. The Boilermakers scored 10 points.
“Decisions like this are never easy,” Walters said in a statement. “After evaluating our start to the season, I felt that it was best for our team to make a change now. We are appreciative of Graham’s contributions to our program and wish him the best going forward.”
The Boilermakers lost 28-10 to Nebraska on Saturday. Their one touchdown came with a minute and a half left in the game. The loss was their third straight and dropped them to 1-3 this season.
After beating FCS team Indiana State in the season opener, Purdue lost 66-7 at home to Notre Dame on Sept. 14, then fell at Oregon State 38-21, before the loss to the Cornhuskers.
Purdue’s problems on offense
Texas transfer quarterback Hudson Card, who joined Purdue when the school hired Harrell prior to last season, has yet to pass for 200 yards against an FBS team this season. The Boilermakers’ 172.2 passing yards per game are 110th in the FBS. Purdue is tied for 105th in the FBS at 21.8 points per game, and its 149.8 rushing yards per game are 79th.
Harrell, 39, reportedly has two years remaining on his three-year contract and is still owed just under $2 million.
He played under the late Mike Leach at Texas Tech from 2005 to 2008, leaving school as the NCAA’s all-time leader in touchdown passes with 134. He was also second in career passing yards with 15,793. He finished fourth in Heisman voting his senior season.
Prior to joining Purdue, Harrell was the offensive coordinator at West Virginia for the 2022 season and served in the same position at USC from 2019 to 2021.