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Barry Odom reflects on playing for conference championship, potential CFP berth, 5 years after Mizzou firing
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Barry Odom has enjoyed a successful first 2 seasons as head coach of UNLV, sporting a record of 19-7 (12-3 in conference play) up to this point.
But his head coaching career hasn’t always been met with such praise. After making his mark as a defensive positions coach and coordinator, Odom was hired to lead his alma mater Missouri in 2016. After building up to a promising 8-5 campaign through 3 years, Odom was fired following a disappointing 6-6 season in 2019.
On the same day that Odom was fired 5 years ago, he reflected on his journey to get to this point with UNLV.
“I’ll never forget that [being fired], and you learn from your lessons and your opportunities,” Odom said. “You pick yourself up, you dust yourself off and you go create more … And I have the opportunity to sit up here with two great players, and [that’s] something I’m very, very thankful for. It will be a heck of a week. And Rebel nation should be really excited about what this team does everyday. We’ll get back to work and get ready to go to Boise and play our best game.”
Five years to the day Barry Odom was fired at Missouri. Now he's one game away from the College Football Playoff.
He started his press conference with reflection and emotion that everyone should hear. @unlvfootball
"You pick yourself up. You dust yourself off and you go create… pic.twitter.com/AutoCUTAmn
— Logan Reever (@loganreever) December 1, 2024
Odom and UNLV now travel to Boise to take on the Broncos in the Mountain West Championship Game on Friday, with a spot in the College Football Playoff likely on the line.
Current Missouri student entering my third year of covering Tiger football and basketball. Contributor to The Transfer Portal CFB and overall college athletics enthusiast.
