Purdue gets defensive by hiring former Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters as its head coach
Purdue has hired Ryan Walters as its new football coach, the school announced Tuesday, ending a five-day search after former coach Jeff Brohm left for the same position at Louisville after six seasons in West Lafayette.
Walters, 36, spent the past two seasons as the defensive coordinator at Illinois. Before that, he was the defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Missouri. Early in his coaching career, he had stints at Memphis, North Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona and Colorado, where he played safety.
He is the fourth-youngest coach in the FBS.
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"From an early point in the search process, coach Walters stood out because of the energy, passion and intelligence he displayed as a defensive coordinator in both the Big Ten Conference and Southeastern Conference," Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski said in a release. "His meteoric rise in the coaching profession is in large part due to his unique ability to connect with his student-athletes as both a coach and mentor. With that in mind, we look forward to the culture and atmosphere of success he and his staff will instill in and around our football program, and we see him as a perfect fit for our university and this community."
Under Walters, Illinois improved from allowing nearly 35 points per game in 2020, the year before he was hired, to 22 the next year to 12 in his last season, the best mark in the country. The Illini's 264 yards allowed per game in 2022 was the second-fewest in the nation.
Over his two seasons, eight Illinois defensive players were named first-team All-Big Ten.
He went to Illinois after six seasons at Missouri, where he rose from safeties coach to co-defensive coordinator to defensive coordinator. He stayed on staff through two coaching changes. Originally hired onto Gary Pinkel's staff, he stuck around when Barry Odom became coach and was one of the few assistants retained by Eliah Drinkwitz after Odom's firing in 2019.
Walters will not coach Purdue in the Citrus Bowl against LSU on Jan. 2. That responsibility will belong to offensive coordinator Brian Brohm. Instead, Walters will spend the next month filling out his staff, recruiting and observing the Boilermakers' preparation for the bowl, according to the release.
Walters will be officially introduced as the Boilermakers' 37th coach Wednesday.
"I am grateful to director of athletics Mike Bobinski and to President (Mitchell) Daniels for this incredible opportunity," Walters said. "Purdue is a world-class university, and our football program will pursue the same excellence exhibited across our campus."