Since arriving at UNLV, Barry Odom has been an extremely successful head coach for the Rebels.
UNLV went 9-5 in 2023, his first season there. The Rebels made a run to the Mountain West Championship and even hosted but ultimately lost to Boise State.
This year has arguably been even better. UNLV defeated two Power Four teams on the road, Houston and Kansas, which helped get them ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. The Rebels are 9-2 overall, with their only losses being against Syracuse in overtime and against No. 11-ranked Boise State.
This success has made people wonder if Odom might be a candidate for other coaching opportunities. Considering UNLV is often in the top five of the Group of Five Top 25 Media Poll, he likely would only leave for the right situation at a Power Four school.
Only one P4 coach has been fired so far this season, so guessing where he might end up – if he leaves UNLV at all – is a little difficult. But here are some potential landing spots for him considering the coaches who were on the hot seat going into this year.
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North Carolina
Mack Brown was the first head coach at a Power Four school to be fired this season, and plenty of coaches across the country will surely be interested in the job.
Odom, according to several media outlets, is a name that sticks out. He has the P4 experience in the eastern part of the country and the success as a head coach at a G5 school to make him an appealing candidate for a job like this.
West Virginia
Neal Brown has been the head coach of West Virginia since 2019. The Mountaineers have enjoyed just two winning seasons since then, though one of them was last year when they went 9-4 overall with a victory in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. WVU is 6-5 so far this year, so maybe Brown is no longer on the hot seat.
But if West Virginia needs a new head coach, Odom wouldn’t be a bad option. He’s shown he can take a mediocre program and turn it into a standout one in little time.
Arkansas
Going from the Mountain West to the SEC might be a considerable leap for some coaches. But Odom already has experience in the SEC having coached at Missouri, where he went 25-25 from 2016-19.
Sam Pittman is the head coach at Arkansas right now. The Razorbacks are 6-5 overall but went 4-8 a season ago, leading some to believe he was on the hot seat. Right now, it doesn’t seem Arkansas will make a coaching change this offseason. But if that were to change for any reason, Odom would be good for the job.
Cal
Looking at potential opportunities closer to where Odom already is, some believed Cal head coach Justin Wilcox would be on the hot seat if the Golden Bears didn’t start winning more. They’re 6-5 overall, with all of their losses being against ACC teams in their first season in that league. Wilcox has been at Cal since 2017, and before this year he had led the team to just one bowl game since 2020 with no appearances in the Associated Press Top 25 since then.
If Wilcox is fired, Odom would be a coach to think about. He’s proven he can recruit in that region of the country and can win quickly as well.
