Purdue will hire Illinois defensive analyst Grant O'Brien as secondary coach
Ryan Walters’ maiden Purdue staff is set to import another coach with Illinois ties: Grant O’Brien, whose Twitter profile says he’s the secondary coach for Purdue.
O’Brien was a defensive analyst for the Fighting Illini the last two seasons for Walters. Prior to that, O’Brien was a defensive quality control analyst at Missouri for three seasons under Walters.
O’Brien is the third known hire for Walters, joining offensive coordinator Graham Harrell (West Virginia offensive coordinator) and defensive coordinator Kevin Kane (Illinois associate head coach/OLB coach).
O’Brien arrived to Missouri after working at Florida International (2017), Arizona Christian (2015-16) and Northern Arizona (2013-14). He played at Northern Arizona as a defensive back and on special teams.
