Purdue Football Coaching Report: Gerad Parker NOT Staying in West Lafayette

Normally, when a head coach with a winless record moves on from a school it is cause for celebration. not today. Dave Shondell, Purdue’s volleyball coach, reported this morning that Gerad Parker, who took over midseason after Darrell Hazell was fired, would be moving on from Purdue:

Officially, Parker goes down as one of five head coaches that never won a game at Purdue. Albert Berg coaches a winless one-game season in 1887, which was hte first game in Purdue football history. Patrick Higgins coaches the disastrous Heart of Dallas Bowl after Danny hope was fired. Myron E. Witham and Leigh C. Turner went 0-5 in 1906 and 1907, respectively, which was the previous 10-game losing streak that Purdue suffered before Hazell’s first season. he coached one game fewer than William Henry Dietz, who had the worst winning percentage at Purdue of .143 after going 1-6 and being fired for illegal recruiting in 1921.

While parker may have gone 0-6 on the field, there is no question he was a net benefit tot he Boilermaker program. He stabilized the team and at least had them better prepared in the final six games of the year than Hazell ever did. He then stayed on after the season and has worked the last several months as a recruiter to hold over members from Hazell’s class and transition to Jeff Brohm. It was hoped by many that he would have some role on Brohm’s staff, but it looks like that won’t happen.

There is speculation that Parker may join Tim Lester on his staff at Western Michigan, but nothing is concrete. Lester was the quarterbacks coach here at Purdue this past season before getting P.J. Fleck’s old job.