Darrell Hazell never had much of a chance to succeed.
Purdue is the hardest job in the Big Ten, as the third-most-relevant FBS program in the state of Indiana (behind Notre Dame and Indiana). Resources and facilities lag behind other conference teams, and Hazell didn’t enjoy a lot of financial support.
In 2015, according to USA Today’s salary database, the Boilermakers’ total coaching staff pay was near the bottom of the Power 5, behind Kansas and just above Army. Then this past offseason, Hazell’s big staff moves were to promote an offensive coordinator (Terry Malone) from within and hire a defensive coordinator (Ross Els) who had been out of coaching the previous season.