When Danny Anthrop’s Purdue career ended last season, he was grateful to have played his senior year under assistant coach Gerad Parker.

The former Boilermaker was so fond of Parker’s coaching that he thought the wide receivers coach would eventually move up to bigger responsibilities.

“After the season, someone asked me about Coach Parker and I said ‘He’s going to be a head coach somewhere someday,’” Anthrop said Sunday evening. “He’s going to be one of the best.”

Someday was Sunday, as Purdue named Parker its interim head coach replacing the dismissed Darrell Hazell following his three-a-half-year tenure. It’s a big move, with a ton of challenges, but one that Parker feels he can handle.

The 35-year-old has been with the Boilermakers since the start of the 2013 season, spending his first two years as the tight ends coach before the last one-and-a-half in charge of the receivers.

This last six Purdue games will be his first head coaching experience.

“I’ve had a dream of doing this,” said Parker, who had assistant coaching stops at Marshall and UT-Martin before. “And you never know with what life gives you if you ever have a chance to do it again. So for six weeks, all the stuff I’ve dreamed of and all the stuff that’s been instilled in me in playing sports my entire life and how I was raised, those things are going to (be the) fire for what we chose to do over the next six weeks to try to give these guys something they’re proud of.

“(But) this isn’t about me and my career. This is about those guys in that locker room and the guys on the staff who are all hurting, (to) help them be proud of something over the next six weeks.”

In many ways, Parker might be a perfect choice, because he can be an emotional guide through a difficult time in program history. His priority Sunday, he said repeatedly at Purdue's late-afternoon press conference, was to help the other assistant coaches, their wives and families, and the players to manage the change.

“This has all happened pretty fast,” said Parker, who was asked by athletic director Mike Bobinski to take the interim job earlier Sunday, when Hazell had been let go. “I think the first challenge is that you’ve got a bunch of men who you coach with who are hurting because of what’s happened. Everyone is affected by it. A bunch of men that I share an office with, and their families, so that’s a challenge and will continue to be a challenge.

“Then, the young men who are on the football team who are wondering who the next head coach will be, ‘How is this going to change things for us?’ Recruiting. All those things start to enter your mind about the challenge you’re going to have in that regard.

“And the third thing is that I have an obligation to Mike and Purdue University and those guys in the locker room and our coaching staff to make sure that we put our best foot forward in our last six games to do something that our seniors and guys in this program feel proud of.”

Anthrop, whose younger brother Jackson is a freshman wide receiver at Purdue, says the Boilermakers will follow Parker, because he’s genuine. And Parker’s relatable, Anthrop says, because he’s younger and has played — as a receiver at Kentucky — and coached at a high level.

“I think it’s through his actions,” Anthrop said. “He’s got your back. He’s always there for you, truly cares about you. He kind of feels like family. I think he has a wide influence, not just in the receiving corps, but even in the DBs like him, which is somewhat uncommon in a college program because you’re always competing against the other side of the ball.

“He’s seen what has and hasn’t worked here and I’m sure he has his opinions on what he thinks the solutions should be. There are a lot of good coaches on that staff, but if anyone has been in the program and seen what needs to be done, it’s him. He’ll be ready for the challenge. I’m excited to see what will happen the last six games.”

Bobinski, who is in his second month as Purdue’s new AD, has seen the same attributes in only a short period.

“As I’ve watched practice, I’ve watched games, I’ve thought Gerad handles himself extremely well,” Bobinski said. “He has the respect of his players and they respond to him in a very favorable way.

“… I really thought he had the makings of someone who could provide this sort of shift in tone and direction that we need at this point in time. And I’ll tell you this, that everything I’ve seen today since I shook up his world earlier this morning has done nothing but reinforce that. He’s handled himself extremely well in a very difficult circumstance.”

Parker planned to work late Sunday, into the night, and be at it again Monday morning. He has only a few days before Purdue travels to top-10 Nebraska on Saturday, looking for an upset win. But first things first; Parker met with the Boilermakers on Sunday.

“I was very honest with them, that’s pretty much how I deliver anything anyway,” he said, “and just said ‘This is an awkward situation.’ It’s a little bit different, it’s not a status quo job situation, they know that and I was honest with them about that.

“But I told them we’re going to move forward and do things a little bit different, change up some things with how we do it. And try to spark some different feelings for some kids and what they’re going to do. The staff, I know this is all going to be done together.”