Worst Purdue Football Coach in your lifetime
- Thread starter New Pal Boiler
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I only started following Purdue during the Colleto era. Walters is probably the worst of that time span, although I agree that recency bias may be affecting my judgment.
At this point, I'll say Haze.
Statistically, the worst coaches of my time are Jim Colletto, Fred Akers, Ryan Walters, and Haze---probably in that order with Colletto being the best of that bunch and Haze being the worst.
I don't think Bob DeMoss belongs on that list at all. Yeah, he followed Mollenkopf and couldn't keep pace. But, he did go 6-2 in the B1G his las year as Purdue's head coach. None of the other bottom tier of Purdue coaches have come anywhere close to that. I would put DeMoss in the same category as Alex Agase, Leon Burtnett, and Danny Hope as below average but not the bottom.
My take on Purdue coaches since Mollenkopf:
Top tier:
1. Jim Young -- Purdue's best teams since Fat Jack.
2. Joe Tiller -- Consistent success if not great.
3. Jeff Brohm -- Exciting while it lasted.
Average by Purdue standards:
4. Bob DeMoss -- Tough gig to follow Mollenkopf, but a true Purdue man.
5. Danny Hope -- Not a lot of institutional support.
6. Leon Burtnett -- Take out the '84 team, and this looks MUCH worse.
7. Alex Agase -- Competitive but couldn't get Purdue back over the hump.
Bottom Tier:
8. Jim Colletto -- Great running game but no defense and questionable game day decisions.
9. Fred Akers -- No defense, no running game, no real plan
10. Ryan Walters -- It's not looking good.
11. Darrell Hazell -- Three+ years spent in the Haze.
Statistically, the worst coaches of my time are Jim Colletto, Fred Akers, Ryan Walters, and Haze---probably in that order with Colletto being the best of that bunch and Haze being the worst.
I don't think Bob DeMoss belongs on that list at all. Yeah, he followed Mollenkopf and couldn't keep pace. But, he did go 6-2 in the B1G his las year as Purdue's head coach. None of the other bottom tier of Purdue coaches have come anywhere close to that. I would put DeMoss in the same category as Alex Agase, Leon Burtnett, and Danny Hope as below average but not the bottom.
My take on Purdue coaches since Mollenkopf:
Top tier:
1. Jim Young -- Purdue's best teams since Fat Jack.
2. Joe Tiller -- Consistent success if not great.
3. Jeff Brohm -- Exciting while it lasted.
Average by Purdue standards:
4. Bob DeMoss -- Tough gig to follow Mollenkopf, but a true Purdue man.
5. Danny Hope -- Not a lot of institutional support.
6. Leon Burtnett -- Take out the '84 team, and this looks MUCH worse.
7. Alex Agase -- Competitive but couldn't get Purdue back over the hump.
Bottom Tier:
8. Jim Colletto -- Great running game but no defense and questionable game day decisions.
9. Fred Akers -- No defense, no running game, no real plan
10. Ryan Walters -- It's not looking good.
11. Darrell Hazell -- Three+ years spent in the Haze.
I know he won more than the others, but seems that DeMoss inherited a pile of NFL players and underachieved…
True, but wasn't that a consistent problem of Purdue football throughout the 70s and 80s? A lot of "aces and spaces" rosters with some high-level individual talent but rarely enough to make great teams outside of the Jim Young era.
I would defer to others who were around for the Mollenkopf and DeMoss eras, but it seemed that decline began with his tenure.
Been around since Mollenkopf. Boob DeMoose was a decent position coach but a terrible HC. The Young and Brohm eras were to short to give them high props. Hope was Hopeless. Hazzell is still somewhere reviewing film. Walters appears to be out to lunch. I see him on the sidelines and he seems detached with his eyes glazed over like he's been smoking some good stuff. Maybe that's just the look of someone who's on a much higher cerebral level than the rest of us.
All I can say is that back in the day I thought myself pretty darn cerebral when I occasionally indulged.
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