Ryan Walters Addresses Criteria, Timetable for Assembling Coaching Staff at Purdue
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Ryan Walters has been cemented as the next head coach of Purdue football, and he will spend the next month appointing his staff as the team prepares for the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl against No. 16 LSU.
With him comes a strong defensive scheme, one that elevated Illinois to rank among the top statistical units in the nation during the 2022 season despite serving as the defensive coordinator for just two seasons in Champaign, Ill.
But the Boilermakers have built a reputation as a program with strong offensive systems, especially over the past six years as Jeff Brohm's aerial attack became one of the best in the Big Ten and the country. Despite a background on defense, Walters will look to sustain success on both sides of the football, and that starts with the search for his assistant coaches.
"We will be strategically aggressive," Walters said. "I want our offense to do the things that I hate seeing on Saturdays as a defensive coordinator. I think there's a misnomer out there that defensive head football coaches, all of a sudden they want to condense down the game and get good stats.
"I'm not into stats. I want to win games. Obviously, I have a quarterback background. I want our quarterbacks to have success here and we are going to be a high-powered and high-flying offense."
Walters — whose father was a quarterback at Colorado — said he grew up wanting to play under center before becoming an All-Big 12 honorable mention at safety as a student-athlete with the Buffaloes.
After being officially introduced by Purdue as the football team's next head coach on Wednesday, Walters outlined his criteria for staff members that will join him in West Lafayette for the coming years.
"First off, everybody in the building first and foremost is going to be high-character guys," Walters said. "No egos. Nobody can care who gets the credit. Then from there, we have to be high football IQ. We are going to teach these guys football. Not just schematics, but really how to play the game from both sides of the ball so we are not reacting to things on Saturday. We will be anticipating things throughout the course of the game in order to win football games."
Walters indicated that he wishes to have an offensive system that prioritizes balance on offense, one that can emphasize either the run or pass depending on the matchup. That mentality is similar to what gave the Boilermakers success in 2022, as they ranked 11th in the Big Ten with 123.1 yards rushing per game.
While still being among the worst statistical running teams in the conference, it was a vast improvement compared to ranking last in each of the previous four seasons under Brohm.
While he didn't give an exact timeline as to when he would like the new coaching staff to be assembled, Walters said has been eyeing candidates to fill several open positions within the program.
Purdue has already lost co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Ron English, running backs coach Chris Barclay, wide receivers coach Garrick McGee and tight ends coach Ryan Wallace, who all left to join Brohm at Louisville.
The team is also expected to lose interim head coach and offensive coordinator Brian Brohm as well as co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Mark Hagen to the Cardinals as well.
"There are a couple guys that we are targeting pretty quickly that I've had on my radar for a long time," Walters said. "But at the same time, we are going to go through the process and vet the process to make sure that we are getting the right guys in the building.
"You get one shot at this deal. I want to have as much success as we can have as a program. In order to do that, we have to get the right guys in the building."
Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski said during his introductory press conference that Walters has been given the opportunity and resources to attract a high-performance staff that will create the right culture within the program.
The team is coming off a 43-22 loss to Michigan in the conference championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The Boilermakers won their first Big Ten West title in program history. They will have a chance to record back-to-back nine-win seasons for the first time since 1997 and 1998.
Walters will look to build off the success that came under Brohm and elevate the program to new heights.
"Together, with the staff that we are going to bring in with the administration, with this university and with y'all's support, we are going to build this program the right way," Walters said. "Through hard work, through class, through integrity, and an unmatched competitive edge to go chase and win championships. We are not shying away from any of that."
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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.