Purdue Football Names Illinois Defensive Coordinator Ryan Walters as Next Head Coach
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters has been named the 37th head coach of Purdue football, athletic director Mike Bobinski announced on Tuesday.
Walters spent the last two seasons with the Fighting Illini, who posted an 8-4 overall record in 2022 which included seven wins holding opponents to 10 points or fewer. At 36 years old, he is now the fourth-youngest coach in FBS football behind Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham (32), South Alabama's Kane Wommack (35) and Oregon's Dan Lanning (36).
He was one of five finalists for the 2022 Broyles Award, which is given annually to honor the nation's top assistant coach in college football.
"I am incredibly humbled and honored to serve as the head football coach at Purdue University," Walters said in a release. "I am grateful to Director of Athletics Mike Bobinski and to President Daniels for this incredible opportunity. Purdue is a world-class university, and our football program will pursue the same excellence exhibited across our campus. My wife Tara and I, along with our boys, are beyond excited to join the Purdue and West Lafayette communities. Boiler Up!"
Walters played collegiate football for four years at Colorado from 2004 to 2008 where he played safety. He started 33 of 46 games for the Buffaloes, earning honorable mention All-Big 12 honors and first-team All-Colorado honors from the state's National Football Foundation during his senior year.
He began his coaching career as a student assistant for his alma mater in 2009 before moving on to work as a graduate assistant and defensive backs coach over the next two seasons.
In 2013, Walters spent another year as a graduate assistant at Oklahoma. He would then spend one year as the cornerbacks coach at North Texas before another season being brought on at Memphis in the same position.
It was in 2015 that Walters joined the Missouri football staff, where he would coach the next six seasons in multiple positions. He coached safeties for the entirety of his time with the program but was elevated to co-defensive coordinator in 2016. He would take on full responsibilities as the team's defensive coordinator for the 2018 season.
Walters went on to join the Fighting Illini ahead of the 2021 season. In his first year calling the defense in Champaign, Ill., they were 29th in the country in scoring defense and 49th in yards allowed per game before rising to become one of the top units in college football this season.
Illinois heads into the bowl schedule with the nation's No. 1 scoring defense (12.3) while also ranking No. 2 in yards allowed per game (263.8).
"We are thrilled for Coach Ryan Walters and his family to join us here at Purdue University," Bobinski said. "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. 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. Please join me in welcoming Ryan, his wife Tara, and their two sons, Aaron and Cason, to West Lafayette."
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D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.