Unless you were living in a cave today (in which I envy your disconnect from the world), you heard that Purdue made the correct decision by firing second-year head coach Ryan Walters.

Listen, there is no need to sugarcoat what an absolute S**t Show 2024 was, after going just 4-8 last year. Former boilermakers have taken to Twitter to voice their displeasures about the Walters’ Era, from players he cut the moment he stepped on campus to former players from the Hazell era.

It was a dumpster fire, there was no reason to believe that giving him a babysitter as a direct consultant to the head coach or whatever the hell it was would make anything better.

The assistants that would have replaced the terrible ones that resided in West Lafayette would have been just as bad under a lame-duck head coach.

But, the past is the past, Bobinski made the right choice, and everyone can breathe a sign of relief.

Or, can we?

Bobinski is 1 for 2 on coaching hires, Jeff Brohm was a homerun, even with Greg included, but instead of parlaying consistent success into another safe innovative offensive hire, Bobinski went with the Boom or Doom hire.

Spoiler, it was a DOOM. Right, Big Justice?

I have five stipulations for who the next head coaching candidate should be, and it appears that I share that with a lot of fellow Boilermakers on Elon’s World.

1. Experienced Head Coach
2. Innovative Offensive Mind & Calls the Offense
3. Experienced Staff (Sorry no more 30-year-old frat parties at the PMU)
4. Bring Respect Back to the “Cradle of Quarterbacks”
5. Proven Winner

There is no need to take another leap of faith at a young project. We need what works, two of the best coaches in the last 45 years of Purdue Football were Joe Tiller and Jeff Brohm, they checked the boxes above.

Hot Board 1.0, Coming in EN FUEGO! (These are in no order of favorites, just a list!)

• Jamey Chadwell, Liberty Head Coach

Jamey Chadwell’s name burst onto the scene once he took over the program at Coastal Carolina. Chadwell reeks of innovative offense, and while this year at Liberty they have taken a run-first approach, Chadwell doesn’t shy away from throwing the football around the field either.

Liberty runs a spread option offense, with unique ways to get into the triple option, no, not like the academies, like running the spread offense, then using a variety of motions to get numbers to the perimeter and using speed and deception to put the defense in tough scenarios.

With a career overall record of 119-61 and 14 years of experience as a head coach, he checks boxes. A bonus, his junior quarterback at Liberty would have one year of eligibility and he is dynamite, Kaidon Salter, has battled injuries this year but is better than anyone roster for Purdue.

• Jake Dickert, Washington State Head Coach

Dickert has been successful at Washington State, posting back to back 8 win seasons. Dickert has Midwest ties, playing his high school and college ball in Wisconsin.

While Dickert has served as a DC in the past, he has familiarity on what his offense wants to be. With how the Pac-12, now Pac 2 has shaken down, it is not crazy to think that Dickert may want out of the two-team conference, and somewhere where he can be closer to where he is originally from.

• Tyson Helton, Western Kentucky, Head Coach

Coach Helton was rumored to be a finalist against Ryan Walters in the first go around, December 2021, but Walters somehow edged out the youngest Helton.

Western Kentucky has been great for Purdue, Jeff Brohm, and Gene Keady, so why not dip into the pool again?

Helton has an overall record of 48-30 as a head coach, and with his pass-first mindset, he would fit right into the mold of what has won at Purdue. Since 2021, the WKU offense has been top 20 in passing over 400 yards per game.

In five of six seasons, Helton’s teams have won 8 games are more.

• Jon Sumrall, Tulane Head Coach

We want a winner, right?

Well, Jon Sumrall has lost only 7 games in three years of being a head coach between Troy and Tulane.

The only downfall for Sumrall is that he only has three years of head coaching experience, but he has won during those three seasons, so it may be something easy to look past. He also has more of a defensive background than on offense, but his defenses have been stifling at both Trot and Tulane.

• Lance Leopold, Kansas Head Coach

Kansas has taken a step back this year under coach Leopold, but the 60-year-old has been a head coach for a long time, including a 109-6 record during his time at D3 Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Coach Leopold is another offensive-minded veteran coach who uses a variety of formations and multiple looks to put the defense into tough scenarios. Last season, everyone was sending videos around the Xverse over Lance’s use of two quarterbacks at a time during the game.

While he has not done that as much this year, Leopold is the definition of a winner – Google Him. At Kansas, he is 17-21, while not amazing, it was damn near impossible for Kansas to win a game for what seemed like a decade.

Coach Leopold has brought them back to being a competitive team in the high-flying Big 12, could he do the same for Purdue?