Barry Odom’s First-Year Expectations At UNLV
Odom Was Hired In December 2022
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What Will Odom’s First Year Be Like At UNLV?
After being hired as UNLV’s next head coach, Barry Odom will look to put his own stamp on the program in his first season.
Odom was hired shortly after UNLV fired former head coach Marcus Arroyo in November. Arroyo’s firing came after UNLV finished the 2022 season with a 5-7 record. A clear message was sent that the university wanted to make a change at head coach.
The 2023 season will be Odom’s first season as a head coach since 2019. He was last a head coach at Missouri from 2016 to 2019. Odom went 25-25 and appeared in two bowl games across four seasons at Missouri. In the three seasons between head coaching jobs, Odom served as Arkansas’ associate head coach and defensive coordinator.
While Odom’s hiring at UNLV was unexpected by some, he brings more than 20 years worth of coaching experience to Las Vegas. Odom, a defensive-minded head coach, will be tasked with improving the team in all three phases.
Odom and his coaching staff will need to fill in the holes left by several key transfer departures. Brennan Marion was hired as UNLV’s next offensive coordinator in January. Marion is an innovative offensive mind and will implement his “Go-Go Offense” at UNLV.
There will be pressure on Odom to deliver a winning season in 2023. Arroyo was fired after recording the most amount of wins during his three-year tenure. Odom will be expected to do better than 5-7 in his first year with the Rebels.
UNLV has not made a bowl game since 2013. Odom will try to reach a bowl game at the start of his tenure. UNLV’s last winning season also came in 2013 and Odom will have to find a way to return the Rebels to glory.
