It's no secret Purdue was a program on the decline over the last two years. Barry Odom wouldn't be here if it wasn't.

The grizzled veteran has already taken one program from the depths of college football and turned it into a winner at the highest level. UNLV hadn't won nine games or more in a season since 1984 when Odom got to Las Vegas.

The Rebels proceeded to have back-to-back seasons with nine and ten wins, which marked a first for the program. UNLV also reached the AP Top 25 poll and College Football Playoff rankings for the first time in program history, and could have been fighting for a national championship had it beat Boise State in the Mountain West Championship Game.

Odom took a historically bad program in UNLV to new heights, and now aims to find success quickly in West Lafayette. Of the four Power 4 head coach openings this cycle, many labeled Purdue as the least desirable, coming off an 1-11 season, facing question marks in the NIL department and being in the loaded Big Ten, which has the most teams in the College Football Playoff this season.

Between his opening remarks, press conference and even his statement when first announced as head coach, "immediate success" has been thrown around by Purdue's new leader. Despite the history of the last two years, this isn't some rebuilding project for the Boilermakers, in Odom's eyes.

"If I walk into a room and we've got a group of seniors sitting there and I'm going to say, 'Hey, this is a rebuild. Year two and year three, we're really going to get going.' That minimizes who they are and what the time they have left. So it's my job to make sure that we expedite this, we do everything we can to put them in a position to play winning football. And the only way to get there is, is you've got to out work people," Odom said.

Athletics director Mike Bobinski pointed to Odom's track record in turning a program around immediately as a reason he was excited about the hire. What really intrigues Bobinski however, is what Odom can do with increased resources.

"I think Barry's shown an ability to adapt to the environment to do incredibly good work and flipping a roster, almost instantaneously at UNLV to where they had great success. So being able to do that, and now having the added, sort of, impetus of significant resources to be able to apply to that, I think even gives us a better opportunity," Bobinski said.

That process of getting Purdue back on track can be expedited via the transfer portal, which has been very kind to Odom over the course of his head coaching career. Odom plucked several key players from the open market at UNLV and that helped with the quick turnaround out in Las Vegas.

Bobinski said he wanted a head coach that embraced the transfer portal and where the sport has shifted in recent years, and he got just that in Odom, if Tuesday morning was any indication. Odom spoke to what he is looking for in potential transfer targets.

"The opportunity for student athletes to have a chance to leave and go play in a different location, that's never going to change. So whether we like it or not, we got to adapt to it. You got to make the most of it. And it's been very, very positive for the places I've been. We've hit on some really good players. But it all comes down to what do you really want to accomplish? Do you want to be a great football player? Are you into the process of what it takes to win? Those things are all important on the characteristics that we look for," Odom said.

The pending revenue sharing agreements set to hit college football next year are set to help in that movement as well, which Bobinski offered clarity on how the Boilermakers will approach the new wrinkle in the NIL and portal era.

"We are going to operate at the full cap. We're going to be as resourced as anybody in the country, allowing Barry and his staff that ability to go out there and be eyeball to eyeball with everybody we're competing with from a transfer and/or high school recruiting perspective. It gives me great confidence, knowing his track record of being able to do it," Bobinski said.

While hitting the portal hard, Odom will also be tasked with retaining as many current Boilermakers that have explored their options as he can. The selling point to guys like Dillon Thieneman, Max Klare, Will Heldt, Marcos Davila, Ryan Browne, Jaron Tibbs and others is the ability to join in on something special in West Lafayette, according to Odom.

"I think number one, I want them to give me an opportunity. They don't know me, but I told them yesterday, I chose this place. And so for us, this, give me a chance. Give me an opportunity. Because if you will stay, we're going to turn this into a winner together. Whoever decides to be all in and committed, it'll be such a rewarding experience," Odom said.

The key to a turnaround in West Lafayette lies in just how effective Odom and the Boilermakers can be in the transfer portal, as well as retaining its top talent. Although, Odom did share that raising the level of play of the players that stick with the program is also a big factor.

As Odom told the team on Monday. It wasn't long ago that Purdue was competing for championship. The Boilermakers' head coach expects that expectation to return sooner rather than later for his new program.

"We'll have benchmarks that we that we set out, goals that we set out, individual, offense, defense, kicking, win-loss record, bowl games, Big Ten Championship, expanded playoffs," Odom said. "I mean, ultimately, we want to be playing in Indianapolis, and then we want to be in a position to have a seat at the table. That's the ultimate, so that's what we're working for. That's our vision, that's my mindset -- every decision that that I make, that our team makes, and everybody that touches our players will will pour into that."