Report: USC OC Josh Henson to be hired as Purdue offensive coordinator
New Purdue football coach Barry Odom reportedly is poised to add a key piece to his first Boilermaker coaching staff by hiring USC’s Josh Henson as offensive coordinator, according to FootballScoop.com. The 49-year-old Henson has a long history with Odom.
Henson has been OC/offensive line coach at USC the last three seasons working for Lincoln Riley, assuming the OC title the last two years. Henson helped groom Caleb Williams, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL draft. The Trojans went 8-5 (5-4 Pac-12) in 2023 and 6-6 (4-5 Big Ten) this season, set to play in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Before USC, Henson was offensive line coach at Texas A&M (2019-21) for Jimbo Fisher and at Oklahoma State (2016-18) for Mike Gundy.
Henson was the OC/offensive line coach for Gary Pinkel at Missouri from 2009-15, when Odom was on the staff in Columbia from 2004-01 and then in 2015. Odom was Missouri head coach from 2016-19.
A native of Tuttle, Okla., Henson was an offensive lineman at Oklahoma State (1993-97) for Pat Jones and Bob Simmons.
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Henson began his coaching career at Kingfisher High in Oklahoma before moving on to Oklahoma State in 1999 as tight ends coach for Simmons. Henson moved on to LSU as tight ends coach from 2005-08–helping the Tigers win the 2007 national title under Les Miles–before going to work at Mizzou.
The Purdue offensive struggles were persistent during a 1-11 season in 2024, a year which saw the attack have three different play-callers. Offensive coordinator Graham Harrell was fired after four games, with analyst Jason Simmons taking over for one game before Ryan Walters assumed command for the final seven games.
Purdue ranked last in the Big Ten in scoring in 2024 (15.8 ppg). And the attack averaged 299.3 yards to rank 16th in the 18-team Big Ten. The rushing offense was No. 13 (115.3 ypg) and the passing offense was No. 16 (183.9 ypg). And Purdue was shutout three times and scored 10 or fewer points four times.
MORE: Josh Henson USC bio | Purdue portal situation | Which UNLV players could transfer to Purdue? | The 3-2-1: Who will be on Barry Odom’s staff? What will roster look like? | Barry Odom’s full contract | Three thoughts from the weekend | 2025 Purdue schedule
