Purdue head coach Barry Odom will be taking one of his top assistants from UNLV to West Lafayette, while defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Mike Scherer is joining the Boilermakers staff. Boiler Upload can confirm FootballScoop’s initial report.

The 31-year-old defensive maestro helped improve UNLV’s defense over the course of his two years at the helm of the Rebels’ defense. This season, UNLV ranked 37th nationally in scoring defense, scoring 21.9 points per game while also ranking in the top 50 in total defense. That performance was led by the nation’s 16th-ranked run defense, which held teams to 109.8 yards per game on the ground.

A defense that ranked last in the Big Ten in scoring and total defense and ranked last in run and pass defense now officially has new leadership in Scherer. The Boilermakers had their worst defense in program history in 2024, scoring a staggering 39.9 points per game, which was only better than Ball State, Tulsa and Kent State that fall.

Scherer worked for Odom for eight years as a player and assistant. The former Missouri linebacker played under Odom with the Tigers, where he totaled 266 tackles, 18 tackles for loss and six pass breakups during his playing career before later becoming a graduate assistant during Odom’s senior year at Columbia.

He then followed Odom to Arkansas for three seasons and then to UNLV for the last two years as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the Rebels. Scherer now follows Odom once again as he travels to West Lafayette to join the Boilermakers’ new team.

Scherer is the first official recruit for Odom coming from UNLV.

Purdue now has both coordinators in place for 2025 and beyond, with Scherer joining new offensive coordinator Josh Henson on Odom’s staff.