Purdue announced on Thursday it has fired defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Bob Diaco after just one season in West Lafayette.
The 47-year-old Diaco hasn’t had the desired impact running the Boilermaker defense and is a big reason why the team finished 2-4 and lost its last four games. Diaco installed a defense that could flex between a 3-4 and a 4-3 and wasn't overly aggressive from a blitz standpoint.
Now, the search is on for Purdue's third defensive coordinator in three years under Jeff Brohm. This marks the fourth consecutive offseason that Brohm's staff will undergo alterations.
After a strong start to the season in a 24-20 victory vs. Iowa, the Purdue defense took steps back. The unit struggled to get off the field on third downs and to consistently create turnovers and pressure the quarterback. In the last four games, opponents converted 49 percent of their third downs (30-of-61) and the Boilermakers had just one takeaway and two sacks.
Diaco was hired prior to the 2020 season to replace Nick Holt, who served as Brohm's defensive coordinator the previous three seasons. Diaco arrived in West Lafayette following a successful season running Louisiana Tech’s defense. He also had been a defensive coordinator at Notre Dame, Nebraska and Cincinnati, among other coaching stops. And he was head coach at UConn from 2014-16.
Diaco was Purdue’s highest paid assistant, making $625,000. Like all Purdue assistants, Diaco was working on a two-year contract that must be satisfied by the university.
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