Neither Bret Bielema nor Sam Pittman have ever coached at Purdue.
Still, the Arkansas football head coaches of past and present have played big, albeit indirect, roles in the trajectory of Boilermakers football.
In 2021-22, Bielema was Ryan Walters’ boss before the Illini defensive coordinator took over the Purdue head coaching gig while still in his mid-30s. Walters’ first job as the top guy didn’t go well, as Purdue left overall 5-19 record skid marks on these last two seasons before Walters was fired on Dec. 1.
That opened the door for Barry Odom, who served out the 2020-22 seasons as defensive coordinator at Arkansas under Pittman.