Ryan Walters worked as defensive coordinator under Bret Bielema before taking over Purdue's football program. Walters went 5-19 in two seasons.
LAS VEGAS ― Bret Bielema had never met Ryan Walters before conducting a two-day interview for an open defensive coordinator position at Illinois five years ago.
Walters impressed Bielema so much over those two days that he was hired over two other candidates.
"The thing that impressed me about Ryan is his ability to speak on what he knew," Bielema said. "His ability to, in my opinion, put it in phrases (that) apply and relate really well with our youth. I gave him the job. During our involvement over the next two seasons, he sees the game naturally well."
Walters was Illinois' defensive coordinator for two seasons, helping the Illini become one of the nation's top defenses.
In December 2022, Walters was named Purdue football head coach.
Walters was fired after two seasons with the Boilermakers, going 5-19. One of Walters' five victories came against Illinois in 2023. Purdue's best performance of the 2024 season came in a 50-49 overtime loss at Illinois.
"In our game, he actually called it both ways offensively and defensively. That is very rare air. That is indicative of how intelligent he is," Bielema said Tuesday, July 22 during Big Ten Media Days. "The reasons he failed at Purdue were not I don't think anything about his football knowledge. Putting a staff together and correlating how things go through."
Walters is now the defensive coordinator at Washington, which Bielema was hesitant to recommend Walters for mostly because one of the league's former top coordinators is back in his old role and still a member of the Big Ten.
"I got fired when I was at Arkansas," said Bielema, who also has been head coach at Wisconsin. "You have a moment of where you have a lot of questions about what to do. I took a self reflection.
"I said the next time I get my opportunity, I'm going to take the most advantage of it. My guess is Ryan is going take great advantage of his opportunity."
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Bret Bielema on why Ryan Walters failed as Purdue football head coach
Category: General Sports
