Purdue officially parted ways with head coach Darrell Hazell on Sunday, ending a 9-33 stretch in which the Boilermakers have averaged less than one conference win per season.
Hazell’s 3-3 record in 2016 isn’t the Big Ten’s worst -- in fact, defending conference champion Michigan State sits below them in the overall league standings -- but it was clear to new athletic director Mike Bobinksi that the program wasn’t improving. The same problems that Hazell inherited in 2013 remain, and winning in West Lafayette won’t be much easier for the next guy. With still half of a season to play, interim coach Gerad Parker will have to try to find ways to inspire slivers of hope.