Purdue fired offensive coordinator Graham Harrell on the heels of a 1-3 start to the 2024 season, the university announced Sunday. The Boilermakers lost 28-10 at home against Nebraska in Week 5.
“Decisions like this are never easy,” Purdue coach Ryan 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.”
Purdue went nearly four quarters without scoring against the Cornhuskers before quarterback Hudson Card completed a 15-yard touchdown pass with just over four minutes left in the game. Card logged his third straight game with fewer than 200 yards passing, and the Boilermakers rushed for only 50 yards while averaging just 1.6 yards per carry.
That was the second time this season that Purdue failed to reach 100 yards rushing as a team. In three straight games against FBS opponents, following a 49-0 win against FCS Indiana State in the season opener, the Boilermakers averaged 12.7 points per game. They currently rank 15th in the Big Ten in total offense (322 yards per game) and scoring offense (21.8 points per game).
Purdue did average 23.9 points per game in 2023 — Harrell’s first year calling plays — which was good for sixth in the Big Ten, but the Boilermakers only scored at least 20 points against three Big Ten opponents. Purdue also averaged just 211.2 yards passing per game last season, its lowest mark since 2014.
The 39-year-old Harrell, a decorated former quarterback at Texas Tech, came to West Lafayette in December 2022 after one season as the offensive coordinator at West Virginia. He was also the offensive coordinator at USC (2019-21) and North Texas (2016-18).
